Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Shares Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) shares traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $90.35 and last traded at $91.22. 1,668,857 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,038,087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.36 and a 200 day moving average of $87.94. The company has a market cap of $118.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MDT. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,500 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,424,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 3.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 124,185 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 78.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 654,279 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $58,905,000 after acquiring an additional 287,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.