Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 357,843 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 35,531 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of Smith & Nephew worth $8,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,667 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC raised its stake in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNN has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

NYSE:SNN traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.25. 488,638 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 810,457. Smith & Nephew plc has a one year low of $23.69 and a one year high of $31.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $27.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.25.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.447 dividend. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew's payout ratio is 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.