Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $79.59 Million Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 996,372 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 124,248 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $79,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in Medtronic by 0.3% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 19,677 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 51,375 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,104,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $82.58 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.42.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MDT. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price 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 assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.14.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.