Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Acquires 6,038 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 151.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,031 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Stryker were worth $3,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Stryker by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,698,828 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,773,213,000 after buying an additional 252,188 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,539,033,000 after purchasing an additional 168,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,710,744,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Stryker by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,007,105 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $722,658,000 after purchasing an additional 266,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK stock opened at $350.02 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $133.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.11, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $375.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $373.63.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.96%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SYK shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $423.05.

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.