Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 80.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,111 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 408,546 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Stryker were worth $35,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Stryker by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 74,430 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $26,799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587 shares during the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $5,348,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $2,486,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,630 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,094 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Stryker from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a report on Monday, May 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $427.05.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE:SYK traded up $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $394.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,113,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,346,938. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $366.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $375.15. The company has a market capitalization of $150.48 billion, a PE ratio of 50.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical technology company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.11. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Stryker's payout ratio is 45.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.96, for a total value of $75,392,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,417,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,195,208.96. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Stryker 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.