Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Reduces Holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC sold 777 shares of Stryker Corporation, reducing its stake by 28.8%, leaving them with 1,919 shares valued at $714,000.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Stryker, with an average price target of $429.35.
• Stryker has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 28.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,919 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 777 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Stryker were worth $714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elefante Mark B purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,000. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stryker by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 98,216 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $36,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 1.9% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 174,871 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $65,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Stryker during the first quarter worth approximately $1,840,000. Finally, Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 90,187 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $33,572,000 after acquiring an additional 8,353 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $415.00 target price on shares of Stryker and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $455.00 target price (up previously from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $430.10.

Stryker Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SYK traded down $4.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $376.08. 860,732 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,445,927. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $143.78 billion, a PE ratio of 49.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $387.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $380.36. Stryker Corporation has a twelve month low of $319.07 and a twelve month high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $0.06. Stryker had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 23.94%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Stryker's payout ratio is 44.50%.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries.