Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,391 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $8,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its stake in Stryker by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 67,316 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $20,158,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its position in Stryker by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stryker by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 194,250 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $58,170,000 after purchasing an additional 16,419 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Stryker by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 566,527 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $169,652,000 after acquiring an additional 3,310 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 10,383 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $359.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $136.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $342.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $249.98 and a 12-month high of $361.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.60 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 11.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Stryker from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Stryker from $336.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total value of $2,756,711.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,414. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total value of $68,972,963.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total transaction of $2,756,711.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,317,414. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 212,109 shares of company stock worth $72,845,768 in the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries.