Stiles Financial Services Inc Cuts Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Stiles Financial Services Inc cut its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,172 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Stryker were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of Stryker by 203.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 91 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 692.9% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SYK shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Stryker from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Stryker from $362.00 to $406.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total transaction of $1,116,093.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,856,522. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total value of $68,972,963.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,755,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $1,116,093.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,856,522. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,109 shares of company stock valued at $72,845,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $350.86. 946,422 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,275,822. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $349.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.02. The firm has a market cap of $133.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.39, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $249.98 and a twelve month high of $361.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.19. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 38.79%.

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.