Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,883 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $3,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Stryker by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 2,007 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,836,000. Lokken Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 3,796 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,539,033,000 after buying an additional 168,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. bought a new stake in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Stryker stock opened at $373.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $142.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $314.93 and a twelve month high of $406.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $383.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $374.43.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SYK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. Argus set a $450.00 price objective on Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $421.90.

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.