Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,730,000 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the February 13th total of 4,060,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $409.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $421.90.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $373.69 on Friday. Stryker has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $384.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.59 billion, a PE ratio of 48.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Stryker will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction 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 represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stryker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Stryker during the third quarter worth $362,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 6.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,504 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Stryker by 6.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 93,239 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $33,683,000 after purchasing an additional 5,995 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 10.3% during the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.8% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,611 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.