Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $399.76 and last traded at $395.20, with a volume of 110514 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $394.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $376.11 and its 200-day moving average is $361.15.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stryker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth $762,798,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 66,967.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 853,769 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $308,433,000 after acquiring an additional 852,496 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth about $143,392,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after acquiring an additional 316,404 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Stryker by 3.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after acquiring an additional 215,782 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.