Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading 2.8% Higher

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $87.36 and last traded at $87.16. Approximately 3,485,178 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 6,230,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upgraded Medtronic from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.30.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $109.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Medtronic's payout ratio is 101.82%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total transaction of $1,601,096.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Equity Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,341,079 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $110,478,000 after buying an additional 292,459 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 1,467.5% in the first quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 47,902 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $4,175,000 after buying an additional 44,846 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the second quarter valued at $25,643,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,804 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $4,185,000 after buying an additional 15,265 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.