Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.87.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $86.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $110.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.26. Medtronic has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $96.25.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $11,233,780,000 after buying an additional 810,854 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 valued at $2,652,310,000 after buying an additional 571,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,155,085,000 after buying an additional 574,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 valued at $2,001,903,000 after buying an additional 1,461,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Medtronic by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,680,301 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,858,332,000 after buying an additional 756,192 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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