Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $80.67 and last traded at $80.33. 641,034 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 6,230,272 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.86. The stock has a market cap of $103.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1.2% in the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 4.4% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 116 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.