Empowered Funds LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,044 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 6,498 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $9,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 3.2% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in Medtronic by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,118 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in Medtronic by 16.1% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 8,083 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the first quarter worth about $1,616,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Medtronic from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Daiwa America upgraded Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Medtronic from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.80.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $87.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.71. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $74.20 and a 1-year high of $92.68. The firm has a market cap of $112.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.84.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.06% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

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.