Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its ownership in Stryker Corporation by 1.1%, acquiring an additional 361,136 shares, which brings its total holdings to approximately 33 million shares valued at over $12 billion.
• Stryker recently reported earnings of $3.13 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and achieved revenues of $6.02 billion, marking an 11.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company's stock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $430.10, following analysis by several equity analysts who have generally upgraded their ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,059,964 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 361,136 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.66% of Stryker worth $12,306,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Stryker by 528.6% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 88 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the business'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 $1,212,962,556.60. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Stryker from $405.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.10.

Stryker Stock Up 0.4%

SYK stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $377.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 972,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,333,167. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Stryker Corporation has a 12 month low of $322.03 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company has a market cap of $144.41 billion, a PE ratio of 50.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $387.17 and its 200-day moving average is $380.08.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The medical technology company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. 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 payout ratio is 44.50%.

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.