Flputnam Investment Management Co. Increases Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 137.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 92,137 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,366 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $33,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stryker Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $386.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. 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 50 day simple moving average of $380.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.92. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SYK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $422.15.

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.