Rakuten Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 618.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYK. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 30.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,013 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 4.2% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,330 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter worth $362,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter worth $493,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 5.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 163,822 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $59,182,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $363.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.81 billion, a PE ratio of 46.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $382.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $373.26. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19.

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

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $421.90.

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.