Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Up 0.4% - Still a Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.86 and last traded at $85.77. Approximately 1,481,203 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 7,789,946 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MDT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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 current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $83.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.01. The company has a market cap of $111.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter valued at approximately $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake 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 valued at $7,833,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $5,873,000 after buying an additional 18,057 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position 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 buying an additional 56,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at about $9,486,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Company Profile

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.