Auto Owners Insurance Co Buys 2,906,448 Shares of Stryker Corporation $SYK

Key Points

• Auto Owners Insurance Co dramatically increased its Stryker stake in the fourth quarter, buying 2.9 million additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2.9 million shares worth about $1.02 billion.
• Stryker reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.60 EPS and $6.02 billion in revenue versus analyst estimates of $2.98 EPS and $6.34 billion in revenue, though revenue still rose 2.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.88 per share, while analysts remain mostly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $395.33.

Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 35,047.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,914,741 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,906,448 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co owned 0.76% of Stryker worth $1,024,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYK. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Stryker Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SYK stock opened at $308.62 on Friday. Stryker Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $281.00 and a fifty-two week high of $404.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $313.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.71.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 23.42%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. Stryker has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.900-15.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Stryker Corporation will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 5,220 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.85, for a total transaction of $1,481,697.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 13,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,728,937.45. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert S. Fletcher sold 4,544 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.87, for a total value of $1,394,417.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,247,298.34. This represents a 30.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 323,264 shares of company stock valued at $100,659,489 in the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $361.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price target on Stryker in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Stryker from $445.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $385.00 price objective on Stryker in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $355.00 price objective on Stryker in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.33.

Stryker 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.

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