Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shot up 3.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $83.22 and last traded at $82.73. 11,153,724 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 7,426,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

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 $106.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.90.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 1,240.9% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 38,484 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,027,000 after buying an additional 35,614 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 17.6% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 22,322 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,335 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Medtronic by 12.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 152,028 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,966,000 after purchasing an additional 16,760 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,945 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 362,003 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $28,493,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.