Athena Investment Management Has $385,000 Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Athena Investment Management lowered its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,068 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Stryker were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total value of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

Stryker stock opened at $386.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $380.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.92. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.15.

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.