Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $81.20 and last traded at $81.44. Approximately 1,844,192 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,456,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.68.

Specifically, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.91. 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 company has a market cap of $103.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,509,155,000 after acquiring an additional 520,027 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $772,727,000 after purchasing an additional 275,870 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position 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 worth $661,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Medtronic by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,120,554 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $560,494,000 after purchasing an additional 515,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,391,865 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $575,460,000 after buying an additional 145,504 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently 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.