Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 580,421 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,642 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $46,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Barclays increased their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $91.51 on Thursday. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $93.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $117.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Medtronic Company Profile

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.