Watchman Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Watchman Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,697 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Stryker comprises 1.6% of Watchman Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Watchman Group Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $6,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Stryker by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,214,877 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $437,416,000 after buying an additional 149,516 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 6,899 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,691,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:SYK opened at $364.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $139.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $374.32.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYK. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.