Short Interest in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Grows By 16.5%

Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,730,000 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the February 13th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $450.00 price target on Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stryker

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth $362,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,504 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Stryker by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 93,239 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $33,683,000 after purchasing an additional 5,995 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,611 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stryker Trading Down 0.5 %

SYK stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $376.02. 121,237 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,220,147. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.48 billion, a PE ratio of 48.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stryker will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Stryker’s 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.