Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 5,704 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,925 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,704 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $11,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYK. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Stryker by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 106.7% during the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 93 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $394.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $376.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $310.74 and a 12-month high of $406.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released 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 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Company 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.