Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 14,566,604 Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,566,604 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,163,580,000. Norges Bank owned 1.14% of Medtronic as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price 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. 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $89.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $114.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.05. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.15%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

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.