Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) was downgraded by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $85.00 price target on the medical technology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $100.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.63% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “sell” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.30.

Medtronic Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $83.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.03. Medtronic has a 52-week low of $68.84 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The business’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,484,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Medtronic by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 247,061 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $19,446,000 after buying an additional 15,305 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,745,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $522,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 654,839 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $51,542,000 after purchasing an additional 148,586 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

About Medtronic

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.