Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Reduces Holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lessened its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN - Free Report) by 64.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,282 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 16,760 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 792,829 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 138,994 shares during the period. Clark Estates Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 115,000 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 535,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,159,000 after purchasing an additional 57,014 shares during the period. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,820,000. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 0.1 %

Smith & Nephew stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 673,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,446. The company has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.27. Smith & Nephew plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.69 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew's payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC lowered Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

About Smith & Nephew

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.