Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.1875.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.9%

MDT stock opened at $92.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.65 and a 200 day moving average of $87.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Medtronic has a 52 week low of $79.29 and a 52 week high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Medtronic by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 125,014,241 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,233,780,000 after acquiring an additional 810,854 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,203,685 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,652,310,000 after acquiring an additional 571,700 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,227,006 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,448,699,000 after acquiring an additional 310,684 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Medtronic by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 22,278,023 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,001,903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Medtronic by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,275,850 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,854,616,000 after acquiring an additional 595,549 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Medtronic

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.