RiverFront Investment Group LLC Sells 250 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,823 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $2,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 980 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 820 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stryker by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,767 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stryker by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Private Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stryker by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $335.61. 1,063,790 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,108,426. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $249.98 and a fifty-two week high of $361.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.16.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.19. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.99% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Stryker’s payout ratio is 38.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total value of $68,972,963.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total transaction of $68,972,963.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $1,116,093.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at $4,856,522. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 212,109 shares of company stock valued at $72,845,768 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SYK shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Stryker from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Stryker from $345.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Stryker from $360.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.67.

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.