Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 740 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Wendell David Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,928 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. Stryker comprises approximately 4.3% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $43,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Stryker by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,279,788,000 after buying an additional 316,404 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Stryker by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after acquiring an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,484,893,000 after acquiring an additional 165,490 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 66,482 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at about $762,798,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $390.31 on Thursday. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $307.23 and a fifty-two week high of $398.20. The stock 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. The stock has a market cap of $148.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. 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. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SYK shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.