Bailard Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,095 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,665,520 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $8,379,967,000 after buying an additional 143,631 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,972,582 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,632,127,000 after purchasing an additional 144,208 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Stryker by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,315,227 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,452,493,000 after purchasing an additional 223,728 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Stryker by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,505,595 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $957,974,000 after purchasing an additional 131,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Stryker by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,740,456 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $475,614,000 after purchasing an additional 40,736 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE SYK traded up $0.62 on Thursday, hitting $337.47. The company had a trading volume of 713,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,070. The company has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $349.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $249.98 and a 12-month high of $361.41.

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

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SYK shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $336.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total transaction of $1,116,093.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,856,522. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Stryker news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total value of $2,756,711.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,414. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total transaction of $1,116,093.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at $4,856,522. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 212,109 shares of company stock valued at $72,845,768. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.