Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 605,594 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,609 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Medtronic were worth $48,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $5,509,155,000 after purchasing an additional 520,027 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $772,727,000 after acquiring an additional 275,870 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 436.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 11.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,893,720 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $530,612,000 after purchasing an additional 609,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,842,020 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $525,960,000 after purchasing an additional 164,700 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MDT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.20.

Medtronic Trading Up 2.3 %

Medtronic stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.95. The company had a trading volume of 7,957,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,464,932. The stock has a market cap of $115.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $93.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.03.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic's payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.