Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,331 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,351 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Stryker by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,665,520 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $8,379,967,000 after purchasing an additional 143,631 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Stryker by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,972,582 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,632,127,000 after acquiring an additional 144,208 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Stryker by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,315,227 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,452,493,000 after acquiring an additional 223,728 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,042,317 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,210,512,000 after purchasing an additional 103,326 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,505,595 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $957,974,000 after buying an additional 131,590 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $328.45. 1,589,424 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,415,127. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $346.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.29. The company has a market capitalization of $125.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $249.98 and a 52-week high of $361.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 16.03% and a return on equity of 23.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 11.94 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,414. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.90, for a total transaction of $68,972,963.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,755,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,287,633,391.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 $1,317,414. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Stryker from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $366.00 to $369.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.94.

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.