Troy Asset Management Ltd Has $65.91 Million Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Troy Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 825,095 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 136,104 shares during the period. Medtronic comprises 2.2% of Troy Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $65,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,203,387 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $9,921,367,000 after buying an additional 754,395 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,509,155,000 after buying an additional 520,027 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at about $852,732,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,792,200 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $782,201,000 after buying an additional 28,910 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MDT opened at $87.62 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.03.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MDT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

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.