Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Up 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shares shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $88.46 and last traded at $88.49. 1,128,121 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,707,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MDT. Citigroup lifted their price target on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $113.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDT. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 36,303 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 155,084 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $12,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 107.1% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 227,802 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $19,353,000 after purchasing an additional 117,809 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 87,325 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,975,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

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.