Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shares fell 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $90.35 and last traded at $91.22. 1,668,857 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,038,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MDT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.94. 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 market capitalization of $118.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Medtronic by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 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.