Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Stryker from $370.00 to $365.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Stryker from $348.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Stryker from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Stryker from $365.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Stryker from $366.00 to $369.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $370.32.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $332.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $337.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $126.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker has a 52-week low of $249.98 and a 52-week high of $361.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.05% and a net margin of 16.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Stryker will post 11.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $340,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,501,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Stryker by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 131,700 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $35,992,000 after purchasing an additional 9,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,652,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

About Stryker

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.