Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,868 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,629 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Stryker were worth $34,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYK. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Stryker by 618.2% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK stock opened at $373.69 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $384.18 and a 200 day moving average of $373.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.16, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same quarter last 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 year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SYK shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.