Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) Stake Boosted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Stryker Corporation by 11.0%, acquiring an additional 22,416 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $83.9 million worth of stock.
• Insider activity revealed that Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares at an average price of $376.45, reducing her ownership by 5.84%.
• Analysts have upgraded Stryker's stock ratings, with Wall Street Zen raising it from a "hold" to a "buy" and Wells Fargo increasing the target price from $435 to $445.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 225,727 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,416 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Stryker worth $83,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Stryker by 43,226.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,074,922 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $772,390,000 after buying an additional 2,070,133 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the first quarter worth $558,075,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $154,140,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Stryker by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,606,237 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,298,426,000 after buying an additional 420,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Stryker by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,059,964 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $12,306,572,000 after buying an additional 361,136 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE SYK traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $378.54. 1,622,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,014. Stryker Corporation has a 1-year low of $329.16 and a 1-year high of $406.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $144.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.91.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Stryker's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 price target on Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Stryker from $405.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Stryker from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stryker from $435.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,222,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,212,962,556.60. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.