Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,834 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,155 shares during the period. Stryker makes up about 2.0% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $29,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,710,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $353,394,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,892,946,000 after purchasing an additional 727,850 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 52,520.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 596,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $214,660,000 after purchasing an additional 595,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in Stryker by 1,695.0% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 370,226 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $128,730,000 after buying an additional 349,601 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYK has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research set a $403.00 price objective on Stryker and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 target price on Stryker in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.53.

Stryker Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of SYK stock opened at $348.62 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $133.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $369.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.06. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $314.93 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 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 Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% 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.