Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 38,927 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,109,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $852,732,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,792,200 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $782,201,000 after acquiring an additional 28,910 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 3.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $772,727,000 after acquiring an additional 275,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Medtronic by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,051 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $639,204,000 after acquiring an additional 134,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $91.78 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.04. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 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 business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MDT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

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.