Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Shares Sold by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 131,272 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 106,149 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $3,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hara Capital LLC lifted its position in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Smith & Nephew stock opened at $28.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12 month low of $23.65 and a 12 month high of $31.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.52 and its 200-day moving average is $27.09.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.447 per share. This represents a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.