Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 23,329 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,422 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,329 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Stryker worth $143,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Stryker by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Stryker by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 0.4% in the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 8,239 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,977,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 242 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,047 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,268,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYK. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $409.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Up 2.1 %

SYK opened at $364.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.94. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $288.90 and a 12 month high of $398.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $374.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.01%.

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.