Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $85.86 and last traded at $85.77. Approximately 1,481,203 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 7,789,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MDT. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $111.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.74 and a 200-day moving average of $85.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. Medtronic’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 19.2% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its position in Medtronic by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Medtronic by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 56,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,486,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.