Legal & General Group Plc Has $787.75 Million Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,187,886 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 640,072 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Stryker were worth $787,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth $1,710,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $353,394,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Stryker by 52,520.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 596,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $214,660,000 after acquiring an additional 595,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Stryker by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,007,105 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $722,658,000 after purchasing an additional 266,587 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE SYK opened at $346.14 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $381.69 and its 200-day moving average is $374.39. The firm has a market cap of $132.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $314.93 and a 12-month high of $406.19. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYK. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Stryker from $409.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $421.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.