Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 52,291 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,282 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 52,291 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $65,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYK. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,133,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Stryker by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 52,936 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $19,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Stryker by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stryker by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth $4,623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK stock opened at $396.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $151.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $381.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.45. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Stryker’s payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SYK. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.15.

Stryker 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.