Boston Partners Purchases 10,398 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,682 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,398 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $2,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 64.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,200,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,992,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Smith & Nephew during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,847,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $33,504,000 after buying an additional 138,994 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of SNN opened at $28.08 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.09. Smith & Nephew plc has a 1 year low of $23.65 and a 1 year high of $31.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a 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 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew 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.