Hills Bank & Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lowered its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,384 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Stryker were worth $811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rogco LP bought a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 190,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total transaction of $61,457,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,316,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,072,790,023.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 190,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total transaction of $61,457,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,316,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,790,023.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,852 shares in the company, valued at $949,716. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $364.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Stryker from $374.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Stryker from $348.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.11.

Stryker Stock Performance

SYK stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $354.36. The stock had a trading volume of 177,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,792. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $335.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.98. The firm has a market cap of $134.99 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $249.98 and a 52 week high of $361.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.02. Stryker had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

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.