J. Goldman & Co LP Takes Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,940,582 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $47,700,000. Smith & Nephew makes up approximately 1.2% of J. Goldman & Co LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. J. Goldman & Co LP owned approximately 0.44% of Smith & Nephew as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $49,947,000 after purchasing an additional 792,829 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,363,039 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,504,000 after buying an additional 138,994 shares in the last quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 800,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $19,664,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 535,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $13,159,000 after buying an additional 57,014 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 169.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,392 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $12,496,000 after buying an additional 320,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SNN. Hsbc Global Res cut Smith & Nephew from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

Smith & Nephew stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.83. 397,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 805,679. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12-month low of $23.69 and a 12-month high of $31.72. The company has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $27.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Smith & Nephew's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. Smith & Nephew's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.