Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading 1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price was up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $94.73 and last traded at $94.00. Approximately 1,346,140 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 6,011,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $121.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.72.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted 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 net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% in the 4th 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. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 82.06% of the stock is 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.