Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Trims Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,658 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 3,441 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 9.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 23,777,808 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,863,229,000 after buying an additional 1,994,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,622,933 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,067,493,000 after acquiring an additional 285,819 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,988,289 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $843,979,000 after acquiring an additional 79,660 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,297,135 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $806,883,000 after purchasing an additional 649,367 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,088,880 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $477,125,000 after acquiring an additional 592,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $81.56 on Thursday. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $68.84 and a one year high of $91.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.01 and its 200 day moving average is $81.69. The company has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.30.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.71%. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 87.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $2,613,065.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,110,842.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.