Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,654 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $13,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 4.4% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 36,303 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 19,677 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $90.16 on Tuesday. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $115.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.84 and a 200-day moving average of $88.05.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. On average, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MDT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

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.