Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $11.58 Million Stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 470,908 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 15,020 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $11,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Smith & Nephew by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,667 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC lifted its position in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SNN shares. UBS Group lowered Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $26.00 on Wednesday. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12 month low of $23.65 and a 12 month high of $31.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.39 and a 200-day moving average of $26.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.447 dividend. This is an increase from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.