Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SYK. Truist Financial raised their target price on Stryker from $380.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $405.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK stock opened at $364.19 on Thursday. Stryker has a one year low of $298.52 and a one year high of $398.20. The company has a market cap of $138.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $375.42 and a 200-day moving average of $357.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Stryker will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.01%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after buying an additional 316,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Stryker by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,639,725,000 after purchasing an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stryker by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,484,893,000 after purchasing an additional 165,490 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 66,482 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the third quarter worth approximately $762,798,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Company 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.