Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 332,756 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,004 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $119,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 618.2% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SYK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

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

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $378.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.26 billion, a PE ratio of 48.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share 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 company earned $3.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

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.