Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $81.20 and last traded at $81.44. 1,844,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,456,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in Medtronic by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 22,781 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Medtronic by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 81,301 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 365,780 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $29,219,000 after buying an additional 4,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,312 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after buying an additional 4,828 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.