Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.15.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of Stryker stock opened at $389.10 on Tuesday. Stryker has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.14, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $380.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.50.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stryker will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction 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 represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stryker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 618.2% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% 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.