Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,840,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the March 15th total of 12,830,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its position in Medtronic by 50.2% during the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 6,285 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter valued at $1,688,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the first quarter worth $55,000. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV raised its stake in Medtronic by 4.9% in the first quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 53,245 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Medtronic in the first quarter valued at about $12,549,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $84.19. The stock had a trading volume of 5,879,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,509. The stock has a market cap of $107.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Medtronic has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.33 billion. Analysts forecast that Medtronic will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.14.

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.