Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Stock Position Cut by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,813 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 52,062 shares during the quarter. Stryker accounts for approximately 2.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $31,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. State Street Corp boosted its position in Stryker by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,279,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after purchasing an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,484,893,000 after purchasing an additional 165,490 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $762,798,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Stryker by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,969,757 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $711,594,000 after purchasing an additional 28,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % 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. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stryker Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Stryker stock opened at $385.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $377.31 and its 200-day moving average is $366.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.79 billion, a PE ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $314.93 and a 12-month high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.68.

Stryker Profile

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.