Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shares were down 1.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $79.29 and last traded at $79.44. Approximately 989,507 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,218,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $85.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $102.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

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.