Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) Shares Purchased by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Stryker Corporation by 7,245.8%, owning 146,255 shares valued at approximately $54.4 million after acquiring an additional 144,264 shares in the first quarter.
• Stryker's stock received multiple positive ratings upgrades, with Citigroup raising its price target to $455.00 and the average target price now at $430.10, indicating a consensus of 16 buy ratings against 4 holds.
• Stryker recently reported a quarterly EPS of $3.13, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $6.02 billion, also above analyst estimates, reflecting an **11.1%** year-over-year growth.

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 7,245.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,255 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 144,264 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Stryker were worth $54,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Stryker by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,109,722 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $4,000,056,000 after purchasing an additional 54,693 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Stryker by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,606,237 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,298,426,000 after purchasing an additional 420,153 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 43,226.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,074,922 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $772,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,133 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Stryker by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,007,105 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $722,658,000 after purchasing an additional 266,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,003,006 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $721,182,000 after purchasing an additional 257,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective (up previously from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Stryker from $442.00 to $448.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Stryker from $405.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.10.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $377.73. The stock had a trading volume of 972,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,333,167. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $387.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $380.08. 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 $144.41 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $322.03 and a 52-week high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

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

Stryker Company 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.