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

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Medtronic by 1.8% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Medtronic by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.03. 10,706,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,272,357. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $92.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $103.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.96.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic's payout ratio is 85.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MDT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Daiwa America raised Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

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.