Professional Advisory Services Inc. Has $21.34 Million Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Professional Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,258 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,869 shares during the quarter. Stryker accounts for about 2.9% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $21,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the second quarter worth $369,000. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Stryker by 6.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,960 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Stryker by 0.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 133,846 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $45,541,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Stryker by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 686,416 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $233,553,000 after buying an additional 228,139 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Stryker by 335.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 66,628 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $22,670,000 after buying an additional 51,327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on SYK shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com raised Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.80.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE SYK opened at $383.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.15, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $307.23 and a twelve month high of $398.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $375.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $358.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.01%.

Stryker Company 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.