Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $951,000 Stock Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC cut its holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 44.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,710 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 31,139 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SNN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,120 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $28.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51. Smith & Nephew plc has a 52-week low of $23.65 and a 52-week high of $31.72. The company has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group downgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

About Smith & Nephew

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.