Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Trading Up 0.7% After Earnings Beat

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)’s stock price was up 0.7% on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $82.10 and last traded at $81.92. Approximately 1,828,899 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 6,114,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.38.

The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total value of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,341,079 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $110,478,000 after buying an additional 292,459 shares in the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $941,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 8,340.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,038,579 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $85,558,000 after buying an additional 1,026,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 69.3% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 40,476 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after buying an additional 16,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.75. The company has a market cap of $109.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.78.

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.