Sovran Advisors LLC Takes Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,871 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 436.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,483 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $346,705,000 after buying an additional 1,420,263 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Medtronic by 8,908.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,415 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $116,896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 5,124.5% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,035,708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $93,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MDT opened at $91.35 on Thursday. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $93.08. The firm has a market cap of $117.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.65.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. Medtronic’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.