Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MDT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $92.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. Medtronic has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $92.68.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Medtronic will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. 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 3.03%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.2% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Medtronic by 1.8% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Medtronic by 2.9% during the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.