Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Medtronic (NYSE:MDT)

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 29,587 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 82% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,301 call options.

Medtronic Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Medtronic stock traded down $2.34 on Tuesday, hitting $87.16. The company had a trading volume of 19,412,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,090,206. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.81 and a 200-day moving average of $84.80. 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 twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $106.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MDT. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Medtronic from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Evercore set a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $112.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $111.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Harry Kiil sold 1,483 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.65, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Medtronic by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 73,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,788,000 after acquiring an additional 10,960 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 2.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,399,315 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,005,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658,301 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new position in Medtronic during the second quarter worth $48,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its position in Medtronic by 18.1% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 2,294 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures devices, therapies and healthcare solutions for treating chronic and acute conditions. Its products are used in areas including cardiac and vascular care, neuroscience, medical and surgical procedures, and diabetes management.

The company’s portfolio includes pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac ablation systems, stents and other cardiovascular products; neuromodulation systems, deep-brain stimulation devices and spinal technologies; surgical instruments, robotic-assisted surgery systems and gastrointestinal diagnostic tools; and insulin pumps and related diabetes technologies.

Medtronic traces its origins to 1949, when Earl Bakken and Palmer Hermundslie founded the company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.