Liberty Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,600 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $4,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $391.42 on Monday. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $314.93 and a twelve month high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a PE ratio of 50.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $377.23 and its 200 day moving average is $364.97.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.37.

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.