Forsta AP Fonden Sells 90,200 Shares of Medtronic PLC $MDT

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 271,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 90,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $26,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Medtronic by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,961,343 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $12,388,027,000 after buying an additional 1,888,381 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Medtronic by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,460,537 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,800,550,000 after purchasing an additional 625,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,879,481 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,665,832,000 after purchasing an additional 231,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $1,653,485,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic by 3.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,203,865 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,067,055,000 after purchasing an additional 327,899 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Medtronic from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Medtronic from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Evercore set a $106.00 target price on Medtronic and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $84.00 target price on Medtronic and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.45.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $73.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Medtronic PLC has a 12 month low of $73.67 and a 12 month high of $106.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.65.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.11%.

Medtronic Company Profile

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic’s offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter?defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).