Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading 0.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $80.51 and last traded at $80.11. 1,653,246 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 6,229,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MDT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America raised Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $86.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Medtronic by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 322.6% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 56,178 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth $9,486,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 88,110 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $7,933,000 after purchasing an additional 20,352 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.