Optiver Holding B.V. Raises Stock Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 213.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,419 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,337 shares during the quarter. Optiver Holding B.V.’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $5,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 229.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,215 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 52,411 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,557 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,847,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

Shares of SNN opened at $26.65 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71. Smith & Nephew plc has a twelve month low of $23.69 and a twelve month high of $31.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.447 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase 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 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SNN. StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Profile

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.