MML Investors Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,392 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $12,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Stryker by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 316,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Stryker by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 66,482 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 3rd quarter valued at $762,798,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Stryker by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,969,757 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $711,594,000 after purchasing an additional 28,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE SYK opened at $382.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $145.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $371.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $354.02. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $285.79 and a 52 week high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. Stryker’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on SYK shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $386.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $406.00 to $411.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other news, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 2,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total value of $784,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,042 shares in the company, valued at $3,715,540. This trade represents a 17.44 % 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. Also, 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 owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,781 shares of company stock worth $24,612,275. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.