Confluence Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,700 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 3,720 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $19,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MDT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $377,169,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Medtronic by 2,043.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $207,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Medtronic by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,233,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MDT stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $83.03. 11,022,726 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,827,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.00.

Medtronic Profile

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.