Medtronic Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Medtronic saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 24,308 call options — about 112% above the normal volume.
• Insiders and institutions have been active in the stock: EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 4,189 shares, while institutional ownership remains high at 82.06% after several large funds added to their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, but price targets have been mixed, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $99, even as some firms cut their targets. Medtronic also reported earnings and revenue above estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.72 per share.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 24,308 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 112% compared to the typical volume of 11,486 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 4,189 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $336,963.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,994,539.88. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,653,485,000. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at $965,922,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,573,163 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $3,321,101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880,174 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 104.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,831,203 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $650,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,529,849 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $717,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,211 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MDT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Medtronic from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Medtronic from $112.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Medtronic from $100.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore set a $106.00 price target on Medtronic and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,066,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,321,894. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $79.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.13. Medtronic has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $106.33. The company has a market capitalization of $104.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.58.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The medical technology company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.62 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 13.20%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Medtronic has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is 76.14%.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic's offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‑defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).

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