Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Stake Reduced by Polen Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management LLC sold 152,995 shares of Medtronic PLC, reducing its holdings by 19.6% to 629,483 shares, valued at approximately $56.6 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in Medtronic during the fourth quarter, demonstrating continued interest in the company's stock.
• Medtronic declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, marking a slight increase from the previous $0.70, which translates to an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629,483 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 152,995 shares during the quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $56,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 185.0% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the first quarter worth $28,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT traded down $0.65 on Tuesday, reaching $92.09. The company had a trading volume of 5,203,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,536,949. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.96 and a 200-day moving average of $87.97. The company has a market capitalization of $118.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, 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 one year low of $79.29 and a one year high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MDT shares. Mizuho lifted 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. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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, Wall Street Zen cut Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Twelve equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently 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.