Apriem Advisors Reduces Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Apriem Advisors lessened its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,705 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Stryker were worth $2,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SYK shares. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $422.15.

Stryker Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $391.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $379.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.37. The company has a market capitalization of $149.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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

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.