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

Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) saw a significant 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 trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Stryker Stock Up 0.6 %

Stryker stock traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $378.06. 1,554,947 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,035. The business has a fifty day moving average of $383.71 and a 200 day moving average of $373.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $144.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.72, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker has a 12-month low of $314.93 and a 12-month high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Stryker will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SYK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Stryker from $409.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $421.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stryker

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter worth $1,710,744,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at $762,798,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at $353,394,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 52,520.8% in the 4th 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 period. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.