Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s share price was up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $93.21 and last traded at $93.07. Approximately 1,086,625 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,042,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.61 and a 200-day moving average of $87.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $119.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 436.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $661,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $377,169,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 2,043.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.