Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 35 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,547 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Stryker were worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Stryker by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,094 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its stake in Stryker by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,630 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth about $2,486,000. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,348,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SYK shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Stryker Stock Down 1.3 %

SYK stock opened at $360.96 on Tuesday. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $307.23 and a 1-year high of $398.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $375.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $358.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.01%.

Stryker Company 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.