Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 606,829 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 36,823 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Stryker were worth $181,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,641 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 15,099 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Diversified LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Stryker by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,373 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $29,758,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK traded up $2.25 on Monday, hitting $327.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,688,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,795. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $349.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.59. 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 company has a market capitalization of $124.67 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $249.98 and a fifty-two week high of $361.41.

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

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.79%.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In related news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total transaction of $2,756,711.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,414. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,856,522. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total value of $2,756,711.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,414. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,109 shares of company stock worth $72,845,768 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Stryker from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stryker from $336.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.45.

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.