Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 108 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,201 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at $762,798,000. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the third quarter valued at about $143,392,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,279,788,000 after acquiring an additional 316,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 3.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after acquiring an additional 215,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Stryker by 1,552.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 207,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $75,102,000 after acquiring an additional 195,310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE SYK opened at $382.59 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $378.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $369.34. The stock has a market cap of $145.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.30, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $314.93 and a fifty-two week 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 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 last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Stryker from $409.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

About Stryker

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.