Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 18,026 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 18,026 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.08% of Stryker worth $115,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,883 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Stryker by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 2,007 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,836,000. Lokken Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Stryker by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 3,796 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,539,033,000 after acquiring an additional 168,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $346.14 on Friday. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $381.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $374.23. The firm has a market cap of $132.12 billion, a PE ratio of 44.61, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 23.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

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.