True North Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Stryker Corporation by 12.8%, now owning 8,702 shares worth $3.24 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• There has been a series of changes in institutional holdings, with Continuum Advisory LLC increasing its position by 5.8%, alongside several other firms adjusting their stakes.
• Stryker's stock received upgrades from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $430.10, following strong quarterly earnings.

True North Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,702 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 1,282 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Stryker were worth $3,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Stryker by 43,226.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,074,922 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $772,390,000 after buying an additional 2,070,133 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $154,140,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Stryker by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,606,237 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,298,426,000 after buying an additional 420,153 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 361,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 706,724 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $254,412,000 after purchasing an additional 312,434 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $75,290,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,222,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,962,556.60. This trade represents a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Stryker Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SYK traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $376.50. 960,134 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.78. Stryker Corporation has a 1-year low of $325.37 and a 1-year high of $406.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $387.08 and its 200 day moving average is $379.86. The company has a market capitalization of $143.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SYK shares. Wall Street Zen raised Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial set a $415.00 price objective on Stryker and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Stryker from $435.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 price target (up from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.10.

About Stryker

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.