Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Stryker Corporation by 14.0%, acquiring an additional 76,729 shares, bringing its total holdings to about $232.48 million.
• Stryker's quarterly earnings report beat expectations, with $3.13 earnings per share and revenues of $6.02 billion, indicating a 11.1% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Stryker, with an average target price of $430.10, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 14.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 624,509 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 76,729 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Stryker worth $232,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in Stryker by 528.6% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 88 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $75,290,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,222,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,212,962,556.60. This represents a 5.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Stryker Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Stryker stock traded up $1.36 on Friday, hitting $377.73. 972,332 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,333,167. Stryker Corporation has a one year low of $322.03 and a one year high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $387.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $380.15. The company has a market capitalization of $144.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Stryker's dividend payout ratio is 44.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SYK shares. Truist Financial set a $415.00 target price on Stryker and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Stryker from $435.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 price target on Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.10.

Stryker Profile

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.