Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its holdings in Medtronic PLC by 34.8% during the first quarter, selling 42,272 shares and ending up with 79,284 shares valued at approximately $7.12 million.
• Medtronic announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71, an increase from $0.70, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.06%.
• Wall Street analysts have given Medtronic a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $98.19, reflecting positive sentiment despite some differing opinions on price performance.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,284 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 42,272 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Medtronic by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,203,685 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,652,310,000 after purchasing an additional 571,700 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 574,055 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 7.0% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 22,278,023 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,001,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,841 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,680,301 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,858,332,000 after acquiring an additional 756,192 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,443,640 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,473,278,000 after acquiring an additional 372,168 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MDT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair raised Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, June 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.19.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MDT traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $91.64. 2,452,907 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,660,858. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $87.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.74. Medtronic PLC has a 52 week low of $78.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.10%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

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.