Erste Asset Management GmbH Decreases Stock Holdings in Stryker Corporation $SYK

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,552 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Stryker were worth $54,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Terra Alpha Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,216,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Stryker by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,445 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,899 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the second quarter worth $4,785,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the second quarter worth $567,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Stryker by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 683,867 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $252,805,000 after acquiring an additional 16,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Stryker in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Stryker from $386.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Stryker from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Stryker from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $418.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $469.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.92, for a total transaction of $90,730,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,457,331 shares in the company, valued at $891,814,566.52. This trade represents a 9.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stryker Trading Up 0.5%

Stryker stock opened at $386.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $147.73 billion, a PE ratio of 45.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.87. Stryker Corporation has a 12 month low of $329.16 and a 12 month high of $404.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $362.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $369.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.40 by $0.07. Stryker had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Stryker Corporation 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 Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Stryker Company Profile

Stryker Corporation is a global medical technology company that designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products and services for use in hospitals, surgeons’ offices and other healthcare facilities. Its primary business activities span orthopedics (including joint replacement implants, trauma and extremities products), surgical equipment and operating room technologies (such as visualization, navigation and powered instruments), neurotechnology and spine solutions, and patient-handling and emergency medical equipment.