Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 49.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 157,654 shares during the period. Medtronic makes up about 1.3% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $13,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Medtronic by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,817,063 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,901,357,000 after acquiring an additional 727,931 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,726,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 12,634,161 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,040,802,000 after buying an additional 346,641 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,089,400 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $893,352,000 after buying an additional 101,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,297,135 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $806,883,000 after acquiring an additional 649,367 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

Medtronic stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.12. 2,064,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,267,798. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $68.84 and a 1-year high of $91.00. The firm has a market cap of $100.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 101.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In related news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total transaction of $1,601,096.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,348 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Medtronic in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “sell” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.09.

About Medtronic

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.