Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,950 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in Stryker by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 145,977 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $52,559,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at $280,000. Wealth Advisors Northwest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, David Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.68.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of SYK opened at $390.52 on Wednesday. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $148.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.33, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $377.28 and a 200-day moving average of $365.59.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Profile

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.