Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $89.16 and last traded at $88.86. 1,397,368 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,096,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $113.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.90 and its 200-day moving average is $88.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MDT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Medtronic by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,203,387 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $9,921,367,000 after buying an additional 754,395 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,509,155,000 after acquiring an additional 520,027 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,203,685 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,652,310,000 after acquiring an additional 571,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 574,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Medtronic by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,443,640 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,473,278,000 after purchasing an additional 372,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

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.