Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price was up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.29 and last traded at $81.81. Approximately 1,467,031 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,219,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.27.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.54 and its 200 day moving average is $85.04. The company has a market capitalization of $104.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Medtronic by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC grew 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 worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is 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.