Ethic Inc. Reduces Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN - Free Report) by 32.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,032 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 16,501 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC raised its position 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC downgraded Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Smith & Nephew from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 0.9%

Smith & Nephew stock opened at $28.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.28. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12 month low of $23.69 and a 12 month high of $31.72.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

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

Smith & Nephew 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.

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