Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 18,897 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 828,303 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.22% of Stryker worth $298,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 618.2% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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 Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $423.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Stryker Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SYK traded up $4.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $365.34. 1,462,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,868. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $314.93 and a twelve month high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.08, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.16.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. 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 0.92%. Stryker's payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

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.