Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Raises Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 63.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,026 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $2,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Stryker by 2.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,639,725,000 after purchasing an additional 215,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stryker by 2.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 165,490 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker during the 3rd quarter worth about $762,798,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Stryker by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,985,045 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $714,715,000 after purchasing an additional 48,819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SYK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $450.00 target price on Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.15.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK opened at $379.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $382.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.99. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $314.93 and a 1 year high of $406.19. The firm has a market cap of $144.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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

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.