Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $2.91 Million Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,077 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 3,614 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Stryker were worth $2,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Stryker Stock Up 0.8 %

Stryker stock traded up $3.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $374.06. 2,251,733 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,353,911. The company has a market cap of $142.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. 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 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 price target on Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $423.53.

Stryker Company Profile

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.