Stryker Corporation $SYK Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Stryker Corporation by 18.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 31,797 valued at $11.8 million.
• Despite some institutional sell-offs, several firms like Schonfeld Strategic Advisors have significantly increased their stakes, with notable boosts in the fourth quarter.
• Stryker announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84, with an annual yield of 0.9%, payable on October 31st, following a strong earnings report that exceeded expectations.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,797 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 7,112 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Stryker were worth $11,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Stryker by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,059,964 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $12,306,572,000 after purchasing an additional 361,136 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Stryker by 9.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,131,218 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $4,515,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,496 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 13.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,895 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $838,640,000 after acquiring an additional 261,058 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,070,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 1.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,015,374 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $750,223,000 after acquiring an additional 30,329 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Stryker Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:SYK traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $391.48. 672,496 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,266,991. 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 firm has a market cap of $149.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.85, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. Stryker Corporation has a 52-week low of $329.16 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $379.39.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Stryker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.400-13.600 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid 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 (DPR) is currently 44.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $442.00 to $448.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.