Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Stock Short Interest Drops 83.5%

Key Points

• Medtronic’s short interest fell 83.5% between October 15 and October 30, to about 23 million shares; 1.8% of shares were short, with a 1.9-day days-to-cover ratio.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $102.88. Eighteen analysts rate the stock Buy, nine Hold, and one Sell.
• Medtronic reported quarterly EPS of $1.45, beating the $1.39 estimate, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $9.76 billion. Its quarterly dividend was $0.72 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% yield.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 30th, there was short interest totaling 22,952,253 shares, a decrease of 83.5% from the October 15th total of 139,004,337 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,371,776 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Medtronic from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.88.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $101.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Medtronic has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $106.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The medical technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $9.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Medtronic has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 5.940-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Medtronic will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.94%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Harry Kiil sold 1,483 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.65, for a total value of $138,882.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,950,718.90. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 10,420 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 105,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,167,936. This trade represents a 8.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 61,903 shares of company stock valued at $5,889,203 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 37.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 162,352 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $14,009,000 after purchasing an additional 44,181 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 201.1% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 304,001 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,232,000 after buying an additional 203,045 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 310.2% in the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 64,112 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $5,532,000 after buying an additional 48,483 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 32.4% in the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 22.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,672,722 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $403,236,000 after buying an additional 870,606 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Company Profile

Medtronic plc is a medical technology company that develops and manufactures devices and therapies for a range of health conditions. Its products include pacemakers and defibrillators, heart valves, surgical technologies, neurostimulation devices, and insulin pumps and other diabetes-management products. The company was founded in Minneapolis in 1949 by Earl Bakken and Palmer Hermundslie as a medical equipment repair business. It has since grown into a global company serving patients and health care providers in more than 150 countries.

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