Inspire Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Inspire Advisors LLC decreased its position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,610 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $49,947,000 after buying an additional 792,829 shares in the last quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 800,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,664,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233,155 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew in the third quarter valued at $7,200,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at $4,992,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Up 0.4 %

SNN stock opened at $29.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Smith & Nephew plc has a 52 week low of $23.65 and a 52 week high of $31.72.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew 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.