Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shares were up 0.3% on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $95.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Medtronic traded as high as $87.22 and last traded at $87.27. Approximately 784,492 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,324,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 436.7% during 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 buying an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $377,169,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Medtronic by 2,043.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.03. The firm has a market cap of $113.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 12.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.