UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the medical technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MDT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $89.95 on Wednesday. Medtronic has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $93.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Equities analysts predict that Medtronic will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,083 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares during the last quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $3,222,000. Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,817,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $324,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Medtronic by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 751,758 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $60,050,000 after purchasing an additional 58,796 shares during 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.