Brandes Investment Partners LP Grows Stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,363,039 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,994 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $33,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hara Capital LLC grew its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SNN. StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

NYSE:SNN opened at $28.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. Smith & Nephew plc has a 1 year low of $23.65 and a 1 year high of $31.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.447 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.