Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Medtronic PLC by 49%, selling 8,883 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 9,244 shares valued at approximately $831,000.
• Medtronic reported a quarterly EPS of $1.62, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $8.93 billion, marking a 3.9% increase year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.71 per share, representing a 3.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 78.45%.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 49.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,244 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 8,883 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 1,368.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 37,265 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,104,985 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $168,146,000 after acquiring an additional 265,416 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 257,968 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $22,003,000 after acquiring an additional 14,660 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,414 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,423,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MDT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.82. 2,177,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,628,779. Medtronic PLC has a 1-year low of $79.29 and a 1-year high of $96.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.65 and a 200 day moving average of $87.92.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MDT shares. William Blair raised shares of Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.19.

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.