Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading 0.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $96.25 and last traded at $95.17. Approximately 2,642,905 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 6,019,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.88. The company has a market cap of $119.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 436.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $661,125,000 after buying an additional 5,975,110 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,169,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 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.