Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $416.40.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE SYK opened at $390.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.86 billion, a PE ratio of 50.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $362.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. Stryker has a twelve month low of $314.93 and a twelve month high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Stryker will post 13.53 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is 43.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stryker news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stryker

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at $762,798,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Stryker by 66,967.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 853,769 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $308,433,000 after purchasing an additional 852,496 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new position in Stryker in the third quarter valued at about $143,392,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Stryker by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after buying an additional 316,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,639,725,000 after buying an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

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.