Bridges Investment Management Inc. Sells 7,387 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,937 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 7,387 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $92.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.08 and a 200 day moving average of $87.46. The stock has a market cap of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $93.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MDT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

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.