Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Sells 115 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. decreased its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Stryker by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,698,828 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,773,213,000 after buying an additional 252,188 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Stryker by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,539,033,000 after acquiring an additional 168,436 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $1,710,744,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Stryker by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,007,105 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $722,658,000 after purchasing an additional 266,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $350.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $314.93 and a 52-week high of $406.19. The company has a market capitalization of $133.60 billion, a PE ratio of 45.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $375.54 and a 200-day moving average of $373.55.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $423.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.