Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 22,580 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,184 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 22,580 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 20.2% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,348 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Medtronic in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in Medtronic by 6.2% in the second quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 86,389 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Medtronic by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 42,055 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Medtronic in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE:MDT traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.09. 5,593,258 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,310,240. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $68.84 and a one year high of $89.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.03.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MDT shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.90.

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.