LPL Financial LLC Has $1.44 Million Stock Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

LPL Financial LLC lowered its position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,526 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,735 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $1,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,120 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

NYSE SNN opened at $25.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.50. Smith & Nephew plc has a twelve month low of $23.69 and a twelve month high of $31.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.447 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s dividend 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.