abrdn plc Reduces Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

abrdn plc reduced its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 206,583 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 11,255 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Stryker were worth $74,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 94.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Stryker by 84.8% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.37.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $392.55 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $376.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.64. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The company has a market cap of $149.65 billion, a PE ratio of 50.59, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.84 dividend. This is an increase from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

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.