Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Increases Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,453 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Stryker were worth $3,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter worth $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Down 0.9 %

Stryker stock opened at $385.05 on Tuesday. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $314.93 and a fifty-two week high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.79 billion, a PE ratio of 49.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $377.31 and its 200-day moving average is $367.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

About Stryker

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.