Bill Few Associates Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Bill Few Associates Inc. cut its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,362 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR boosted its stake in Stryker by 106.7% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 93 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the third quarter worth about $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SYK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Stryker Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SYK stock opened at $390.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $375.82 and a 200 day moving average of $360.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $307.23 and a 1-year high of $398.20.

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

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.01%.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.