First Merchants Corp Lowers Holdings in Stryker Corporation $SYK

First Merchants Corp decreased its holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,691 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 1,487 shares during the quarter. Stryker makes up approximately 0.9% of First Merchants Corp's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Stryker were worth $22,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dohj LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 2nd quarter valued at about $471,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Stryker by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,351 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Stryker by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 15,863 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $6,276,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares during the period. Hendley & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Stryker by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 14,018 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $5,546,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in Stryker by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 5,854 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,316,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.45, for a total value of $75,290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,222,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,212,962,556.60. This represents a 5.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Viju Menon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.61, for a total value of $195,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,886,921.71. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Stryker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Stryker in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Stryker from $435.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Stryker from $418.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $430.10.

Stryker Stock Performance

Stryker stock opened at $375.35 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $380.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $378.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.50 billion, a PE ratio of 49.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.78. Stryker Corporation has a one year low of $329.16 and a one year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.94% and a net margin of 12.25%.Stryker's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. Stryker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.400-13.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Stryker's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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