First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 563,505 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 12,852 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Stryker were worth $202,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SYK shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.53.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $346.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $132.24 billion, a PE ratio of 44.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.16. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Stryker Profile

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.