Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 547,780 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,788 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $198,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Stryker by 618.2% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SYK shares. Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Stryker Trading Down 1.5 %

SYK opened at $367.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $140.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $314.93 and a fifty-two week high of $406.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $374.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 0.91%. 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.