Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 6,004 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 332,756 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,004 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Stryker worth $119,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,394,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 52,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 596,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $214,660,000 after purchasing an additional 595,061 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at $143,392,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Stryker by 3.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after buying an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on SYK shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $421.90.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stryker Stock Up 0.6 %

SYK opened at $378.06 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $383.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.85. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $144.26 billion, a PE ratio of 48.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.30%.

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.