Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Stryker Corporation $SYK

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments cut its Stryker stake by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 1.7 million shares valued at roughly $598 million. Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 77.09% of the stock.
• Stryker’s latest earnings missed Wall Street estimates: it reported $2.60 EPS versus $2.98 expected and revenue of $6.02 billion versus $6.34 billion expected. The company also provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 14.90 to 15.10.
• Analysts remain mostly positive overall, with 16 Buy ratings and six Holds, giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a target price of $395.33. Meanwhile, insiders have been selling shares, including vice presidents Robert S. Fletcher and M. Kathryn Fink, and insiders sold 323,264 shares over the last quarter.

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,701,362 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 105,873 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Stryker worth $597,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in Stryker by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 7,149 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,513,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its position in Stryker by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 105,397 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $37,044,000 after buying an additional 55,216 shares during the last quarter. DB&C Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in Stryker by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 154 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Havemeyer Place LP purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,901,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Stryker from $435.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $330.00 target price (down from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $385.00 price target on Stryker in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on Stryker from $397.00 to $379.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.33.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In related news, VP Robert S. Fletcher sold 4,544 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.87, for a total transaction of $1,394,417.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,247,298.34. This trade represents a 30.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 3,500 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.45, for a total value of $992,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,170.65. This represents a 95.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 323,264 shares of company stock valued at $100,659,489. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Stryker stock opened at $305.71 on Friday. Stryker Corporation has a one year low of $281.00 and a one year high of $404.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $318.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.74%.

About Stryker

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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