Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Up 3.6% – Here’s Why

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) was up 3.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $83.22 and last traded at $82.73. Approximately 11,153,724 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 7,426,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.90.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth about $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 322.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 56,178 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,486,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 30.0% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 88,110 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $7,933,000 after purchasing an additional 20,352 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.