River Road Asset Management LLC Purchases 792,829 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 64.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 792,829 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Smith & Nephew worth $49,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the period. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SNN opened at $29.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12-month low of $23.65 and a 12-month high of $31.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.447 per share. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.