Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Decreases Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P trimmed its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,900 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $87.62 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Medtronic plc has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $96.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.99. The stock has a market cap of $112.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. The trade was 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 price target 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.