Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,621 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 949 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Stryker were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,710,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,394,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 52,520.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 596,194 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $214,660,000 after acquiring an additional 595,061 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 1,695.0% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 370,226 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $128,730,000 after buying an additional 349,601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYK. BTIG Research set a $403.00 price target on Stryker and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $423.53.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $374.06. 1,461,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,392. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $367.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $373.49. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The company has a market cap of $142.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Stryker's payout ratio is 43.30%.

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.