Medtronic (MDT) Competitors

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Does the media refer more to ABT or MDT?

In the previous week, Medtronic had 11 more articles in the media than Abbott Laboratories. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Medtronic and 37 mentions for Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Medtronic's score of 1.23 indicating that Abbott Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Abbott Laboratories	28 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Medtronic	35 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, ABT or MDT?

Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medtronic has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABT or MDT a better dividend stock?

Abbott Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Medtronic pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Abbott Laboratories pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Medtronic pays out 85.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Abbott Laboratories has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years and Medtronic has increased its dividend for 48 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate ABT or MDT?

Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus price target of $142.59, indicating a potential upside of 5.48%. Medtronic has a consensus price target of $96.14, indicating a potential upside of 11.55%. Given Medtronic's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Medtronic is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.84
Medtronic	1 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.44

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ABT or MDT?

Medtronic received 637 more outperform votes than Abbott Laboratories when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 75.42% of users gave Medtronic an outperform vote while only 70.00% of users gave Abbott Laboratories an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Abbott Laboratories	Outperform Votes 952 70.00%	Underperform Votes 408 30.00%
Medtronic	Outperform Votes 1589 75.42%	Underperform Votes 518 24.58%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, ABT or MDT?

Abbott Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Medtronic. Abbott Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medtronic, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Abbott Laboratories	$42.34B	5.55	$13.40B	$7.71	17.53
Medtronic	$33.20B	3.33	$3.68B	$3.29	26.20

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ABT or MDT?

75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.1% of Medtronic shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Medtronic shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABT or MDT more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories has a net margin of 31.95% compared to Medtronic's net margin of 12.83%. Abbott Laboratories' return on equity of 20.74% beat Medtronic's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abbott Laboratories	31.95%	20.74%	11.19%
Medtronic	12.83%	14.07%	7.70%

Summary

Abbott Laboratories beats Medtronic on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.