Medtronic PLC $MDT Shares Sold by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,857,234 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 75,153 shares during the period. Medtronic comprises 4.4% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $273,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.6% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,234,550 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $117,579,000 after purchasing an additional 31,314 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 13.2% in the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 285,260 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,169,000 after purchasing an additional 33,167 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 164.8% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,204 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,062 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 65.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,278 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $13,170,000 after purchasing an additional 54,898 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 17.8% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 87,313 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $8,316,000 after purchasing an additional 13,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT opened at $78.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.62. Medtronic PLC has a 52-week low of $74.40 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical technology company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $9.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, January 30th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.45.

Medtronic Company Profile

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic’s offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‑defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).