Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.37.

Stryker Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE SYK opened at $390.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a PE ratio of 50.37, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $376.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $362.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Stryker will post 13.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 114,889 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $41,366,000 after buying an additional 40,784 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,000. Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in Stryker by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 8,489 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.