Columbia Asset Management Sells 907 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Columbia Asset Management cut its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,933 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 907 shares during the quarter. Stryker comprises 1.0% of Columbia Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Stryker were worth $5,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Stryker by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,698,828 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,773,213,000 after acquiring an additional 252,188 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Stryker by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Stryker by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,539,033,000 after buying an additional 168,436 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,710,744,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Stryker by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,985,045 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $714,715,000 after purchasing an additional 48,819 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $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. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stryker Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE SYK opened at $373.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $383.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $374.43.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus set a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 target price on Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $421.90.

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.