Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 224,635 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 66.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 113,125 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 224,635 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $9,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.9 %

MDT opened at $93.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.96. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $119.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted 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. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.