Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 102,290 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,339 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Stryker were worth $37,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 195,052 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $70,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $41,366,000 after acquiring an additional 40,784 shares during the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its position in shares of Stryker by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 29,222 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $10,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,841 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Stryker by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 182,825 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $65,829,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.90.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK stock opened at $363.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.71 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $382.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $373.33.

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 net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is 43.30%.

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.