Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on SYK. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Stryker from $380.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:SYK opened at $364.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Stryker has a twelve month low of $298.52 and a twelve month high of $398.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $375.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $357.51.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Stryker will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Stryker by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Stryker by 1.5% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 0.4% in the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 8,239 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 0.4% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,047 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,268,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.