Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 823,499 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 134,428 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $296,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Stryker by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,279,788,000 after buying an additional 316,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 165,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $1,710,744,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,985,045 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $714,715,000 after acquiring an additional 48,819 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $421.90.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $372.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $142.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19. 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 50-day moving average of $383.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

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.