Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price shot up 0.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $96.25 and last traded at $95.17. 2,642,905 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 6,019,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MDT shares. Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 36,303 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 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.