2,683 Stryker Corporation $SYK Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,897 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $9,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Provident Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,175,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 4.4% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 4.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,259 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Bank grew its holdings in Stryker by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 8,576 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 469 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $309.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $385.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research cut their target price on Stryker from $316.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded Stryker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Thursday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.44.

Stryker Stock Down 0.1%

SYK stock opened at $291.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.78. Stryker Corporation has a 12 month low of $267.00 and a 12 month high of $389.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 23.74%. Stryker’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Corporation will post 14.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dylan Crotty sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.61, for a total value of $144,917.01. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,178.22. This represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Debra King sold 826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.30, for a total transaction of $277,783.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,088,423. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 351,267 shares of company stock worth $118,197,701. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used by healthcare providers in hospitals, surgical centers and other clinical settings. Its offerings are designed to support orthopaedic procedures, surgery, emergency care, neurovascular treatment and patient handling.

The company’s product portfolio includes orthopaedic implants and instruments, products for trauma and spine procedures, surgical equipment, endoscopy systems, patient beds and stretchers, emergency medical equipment, and neurovascular devices used in the treatment of conditions such as stroke.