Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Given "Hold" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.20.

Medtronic Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE MDT traded up $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,762,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,605,718. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Medtronic has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $93.08. The company has a market cap of $115.34 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $86.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.10.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 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 firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 40,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 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.