Ballast Inc. Sells 3,890 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Ballast Inc. decreased its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,079 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 3,890 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Medtronic by 425.0% during the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 315 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Medtronic by 317.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Medtronic during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Medtronic during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.2 %

Medtronic stock opened at $87.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.76. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $68.84 and a 12 month high of $92.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 21st. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total transaction of $2,613,065.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,289 shares in the company, valued at $4,110,842.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MDT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.91.

About Medtronic

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.