Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Sells 404 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,796 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $2,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in Stryker by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 2,789 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Stryker by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 121,249 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $43,656,000 after purchasing an additional 8,029 shares in the last quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC grew its position in Stryker by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 22,216 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $7,999,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 9,362 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SYK. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.40.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE SYK opened at $390.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19. The company has a market cap of $148.86 billion, a PE ratio of 50.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $376.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $362.18.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.30%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.