Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Lowers Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. cut its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 32.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,740 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 117,000 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $22,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 185.0% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:MDT traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.19. 6,008,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,886,057. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.26. Medtronic plc has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MDT. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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.