Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,694 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Stryker makes up 1.1% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $7,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $41,366,000 after buying an additional 40,784 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $587,000. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,350,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the third quarter worth $762,798,000. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Stryker by 2.4% during the third quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 66,681 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $24,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $390.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $148.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $375.78 and a 200 day moving average of $359.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $307.23 and a one year high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued 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 is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.01%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SYK. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

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.