Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 211 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,067 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $7,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 618.2% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $409.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

Stryker Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:SYK opened at $367.87 on Friday. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.41, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $374.24.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

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.