Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 109,896 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its stake in Medtronic PLC by 88.6%, selling 109,896 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with just 14,176 shares valued at approximately $1.27 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Capital Research Global Investors, have also adjusted their positions, with Vanguard increasing its stake by 0.7% to over 125 million shares worth roughly $11.23 billion.
• Medtronic recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.71, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a dividend yield of 3.1%.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC cut its holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 88.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,176 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 109,896 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.7% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 145,984 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $13,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 1,368.0% in 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 during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. New Vernon Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 22,300 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Inv LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 84.2% in the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,456 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,467,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.9%

MDT traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,594,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,637,530. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $79.29 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $88.96 and its 200-day moving average is $87.97.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.19.

Medtronic Company 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.