Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shot up 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $90.91 and last traded at $90.76. 924,514 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 7,408,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MDT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $116.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth about $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 436.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $377,169,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 2,043.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $207,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476,935 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.