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

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

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MDT traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $81.34. 3,066,668 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,321,894. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.95. The company has a market capitalization of $104.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.58. Medtronic has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued 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. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 13.20%.The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Medtronic has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 4,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $336,963.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,227 shares in the company, valued at $2,994,539.88. This represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 2.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,234,550 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $117,579,000 after buying an additional 31,314 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 13.2% in the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 285,260 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,169,000 after acquiring an additional 33,167 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 164.8% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 24,204 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 15,062 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 195,216 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $18,752,000 after acquiring an additional 25,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ticino Wealth purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $2,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.00.

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).