Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Stryker (NYSE:SYK)

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $442.00 target price on the medical technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $364.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $375.42 and a 200 day moving average of $357.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Stryker has a 1-year low of $298.52 and a 1-year high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.10. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stryker will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,254,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 6.1% during the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Stryker by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 64,501 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $21,939,000 after acquiring an additional 8,495 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its position in Stryker by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 5,660 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Stryker by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,299 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.