Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.18 Million Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,271 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $41,366,000 after purchasing an additional 40,784 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $587,000. Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $1,350,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $324,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

SYK opened at $390.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $148.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $376.55 and its 200-day moving average is $362.18. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.86%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Stryker news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYK shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.40.

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.