ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $309,000 Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 909 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stryker by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,459,393 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,258,373,000 after acquiring an additional 309,592 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Stryker by 0.6% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 18,596,387 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,655,089,000 after buying an additional 108,080 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Stryker by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,541,845 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,755,782,000 after buying an additional 642,178 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Stryker by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,651,403 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,096,078,000 after buying an additional 813,311 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stryker by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,686,440 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,403,401,000 after acquiring an additional 29,209 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK stock traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $343.74. The stock had a trading volume of 174,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,087. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $249.98 and a 12 month high of $361.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.02. Stryker had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Stryker from $374.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Stryker from $372.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $386.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Stryker from $348.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other news, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,716. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Stryker news, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total transaction of $6,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,716. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 190,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $61,457,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,316,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,790,023.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.