Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Stock Position in Medtronic PLC $MDT

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC cut its Medtronic stake by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,400 shares and leaving it with 56,600 shares worth about $5.44 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on MDT, with several firms lowering price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $107.80.
• Medtronic beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.36 on revenue of $9.02 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, implying a 3.6% annual yield.

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,600 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 21,400 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 410.7% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $104.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday, January 30th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.80.

Medtronic Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MDT opened at $78.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.62. Medtronic PLC has a 12-month low of $74.40 and a 12-month high of $106.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.34.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical technology company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The business's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Medtronic's payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

Medtronic News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Medtronic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Medtronic announced plans to acquire privately held SPR Therapeutics for about $650 million in cash, a deal that should expand its neuromodulation franchise and add temporary peripheral nerve stimulation technology for chronic pain treatment. Article: Medtronic announces intent to acquire SPR Therapeutics, Inc., expanding care options for people living with chronic pain
• Positive Sentiment: Broader healthcare trading was mixed but stable, which suggests the stock’s move is more about company news than a sector-wide selloff. Article: Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Medtronic also named Kweli Thompson to lead its neuroscience portfolio, a leadership change that keeps attention on execution in one of its key growth businesses. Article: Medtronic, BD name new leaders
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear to be weighing the $650 million cash outlay and integration risk from the SPR deal, which may be pressuring the shares in the near term. Article: Medtronic (MDT) Stock Slides as Company Announces $650M SPR Therapeutics Deal

Medtronic Profile

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic's offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‑defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).

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