Central Securities Corp Trims Stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Central Securities Corp reduced its holdings in Medtronic PLC by 5.4%, selling 10,000 shares and representing about 1.5% of the fund's holdings.
• Medtronic reported $1.62 per share in earnings for the last quarter, surpassing consensus estimates, with revenues reaching $8.93 billion, a 3.9% increase year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.71 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.06%, up from the previous $0.70.

Central Securities Corp lowered its position in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,000 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Medtronic makes up approximately 1.5% of Central Securities Corp's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Central Securities Corp's holdings in Medtronic were worth $15,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position in Medtronic by 185.0% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the first quarter worth $28,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MDT traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,382,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,676,105. Medtronic PLC has a one year low of $78.96 and a one year high of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $118.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.26 and a 200 day moving average of $87.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. Medtronic's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's payout ratio is currently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Medtronic in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.19.

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.