World Equity Group Inc. Buys 1,711 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 168.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,726 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Stryker by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SYK. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.15.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $382.59 on Friday. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $314.93 and a 12-month high of $406.19. The stock has a market cap of $145.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $378.07 and a 200-day moving average of $368.99. 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 (NYSE:SYK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Stryker Company 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.