Everence Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,330 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 4,660 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in Stryker by 203.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 91 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Stryker in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Stryker stock opened at $337.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 40.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $249.98 and a 52-week high of $361.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.86.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.19. Stryker had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 22.99%. The business had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 11.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 38.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total value of $2,756,711.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,317,414. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total value of $68,972,963.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,633,391.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.48, for a total transaction of $2,756,711.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,317,414. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 212,109 shares of company stock worth $72,845,768 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $336.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.22.

Stryker 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.