Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) rose 1.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.60 and last traded at $92.50. Approximately 888,698 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,040,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $119.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.96.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. Research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 3.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 124,185 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 78.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 654,279 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $58,905,000 after purchasing an additional 287,396 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $521,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 54,238 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,883,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.