Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases 450 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,915 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth $785,000. Harrington Investments INC acquired a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,000. Scharf Investments LLC raised its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,980,334 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $81,304,000 after acquiring an additional 506,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $422,000. 25.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of SNN stock opened at $26.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Smith & Nephew plc has a 52 week low of $21.52 and a 52 week high of $33.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.09.

Smith & Nephew Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.462 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a yield of 2.8%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.