Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 21,695 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 126.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,913 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,695 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SNN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 74.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew during the third quarter valued at about $792,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 6.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,659 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 19.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,167 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 3.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,013 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares during the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Smith & Nephew stock opened at $29.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. Smith & Nephew plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.65 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a yield of 2.5%. 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. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.