Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 138,994 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,363,039 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,994 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.31% of Smith & Nephew worth $33,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smith & Nephew Stock Up 1.3 %

SNN stock opened at $28.59 on Friday. Smith & Nephew plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.65 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $26.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.447 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Profile

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.