Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,103 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the quarter. Stryker accounts for about 1.3% of Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $24,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $41,366,000 after buying an additional 40,784 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at about $587,000. Berkshire Bank grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 8,489 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $390.97 on Tuesday. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $376.68 and its 200 day moving average is $363.22. The company has a market cap of $149.05 billion, a PE ratio of 50.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.96.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SYK shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.