Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 7,322 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 147,069 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 7,322 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Stryker were worth $52,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYK. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Trading Down 2.7 %

SYK opened at $369.16 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $140.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.57, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $382.59 and a 200 day moving average of $373.31.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 price target on Stryker in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

About Stryker

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.