Swiss National Bank Cuts Stake in Stryker Corporation $SYK

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank trimmed its Stryker stake by 4.7% in Q3, selling 48,400 shares to hold 991,500 shares worth about $366.53 million (0.26% of the company); institutional investors now own 77.09% of Stryker.
• Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 250,000 shares at an average $362.92 for roughly $90.73 million, cutting her ownership by 9.23%; corporate insiders own about 5.20% of the stock.
• Stryker beat quarterly estimates with $4.47 EPS and $7.17 billion revenue (up 11.4% YoY), announced a $0.88 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield), and carries a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with a $428.61 price target.

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 991,500 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 48,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.26% of Stryker worth $366,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clayton Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $364.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $365.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.89. Stryker Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $329.16 and a fifty-two week high of $404.87.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical technology company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.40 by $0.07. Stryker had a return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. Stryker's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Stryker's payout ratio is currently 41.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $362.92, for a total transaction of $90,730,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,457,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $891,814,566.52. This represents a 9.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYK. Robert W. Baird set a $437.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $428.61.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation is a global medical technology company that designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products and services for use in hospitals, surgeons' offices and other healthcare facilities. Its primary business activities span orthopedics (including joint replacement implants, trauma and extremities products), surgical equipment and operating room technologies (such as visualization, navigation and powered instruments), neurotechnology and spine solutions, and patient-handling and emergency medical equipment.

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