Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 3,980 Shares of Stryker Corporation $SYK

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 7.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,829 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 3,980 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $16,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SYK. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, DJE Kapital AG bought a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Stryker news, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.45, for a total value of $992,075.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,170.65. This represents a 95.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 310,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.23, for a total value of $96,791,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,924,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $601,005,282.40. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 323,264 shares of company stock worth $100,659,489 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK stock opened at $352.35 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $316.38 and a 200-day moving average of $335.11. The company has a market cap of $135.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Stryker Corporation has a 52 week low of $281.00 and a 52 week high of $403.22.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.38). Stryker had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 13.20%.The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stryker Corporation will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $385.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Stryker from $456.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $361.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.39.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation is a global medical technology company that designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products and services for use in hospitals, surgeons’ offices and other healthcare facilities. Its primary business activities span orthopedics (including joint replacement implants, trauma and extremities products), surgical equipment and operating room technologies (such as visualization, navigation and powered instruments), neurotechnology and spine solutions, and patient-handling and emergency medical equipment.