Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.00.

MDT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth $377,169,000. Boston Partners raised its position in Medtronic by 122.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,912,055 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $619,460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809,450 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Medtronic by 28.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,481,028 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,391,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461,221 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MDT traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $83.03. The stock had a trading volume of 11,022,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,827,209. The company has a market capitalization of $106.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.20. 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 has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Medtronic will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.45%.

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.