Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 51,694 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,609,917 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 51,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Medtronic worth $234,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $79.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $92.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.06 and a 200-day moving average of $84.97.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

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.