Westpac Banking Corp Sells 2,072 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,310 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,072 shares during the period. Stryker comprises about 0.6% of Westpac Banking Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Stryker were worth $9,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 195,052 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $70,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $41,366,000 after purchasing an additional 40,784 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 29,222 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $10,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,841 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,064,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 182,825 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $65,829,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

SYK opened at $377.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $144.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $383.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $374.45. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYK has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stryker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other Stryker news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

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.