Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 50,386 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 475,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,386 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.12% of Stryker worth $184,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Stryker by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,279,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316,404 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after buying an additional 215,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stryker by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,484,893,000 after buying an additional 165,490 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the third quarter worth approximately $762,798,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Stryker by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,985,045 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $714,715,000 after acquiring an additional 48,819 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $379.28 on Friday. Stryker Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $382.45 and its 200 day moving average is $372.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company’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 owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.15.

Stryker Company 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.