Medtronic Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MDT)

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 24,308 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 112% compared to the typical volume of 11,486 call options.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 4,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total transaction of $336,963.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,994,539.88. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 410.7% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MDT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Medtronic from $114.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Medtronic from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $80.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $103.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.58. 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 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $106.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.74.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The medical technology company reported $1.55 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 analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 13.20%.Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Medtronic has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Medtronic will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.14%.

Medtronic Company Profile

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).