GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,151 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYK. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 74,911.8% during the third quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 680,357 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $185,921,000 after purchasing an additional 679,450 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 103.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,084,987 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $296,493,000 after purchasing an additional 551,798 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 4.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,315,227 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,452,493,000 after purchasing an additional 223,728 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 24.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,115,955 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $304,957,000 after purchasing an additional 217,672 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 14.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,547,683 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $422,099,000 after purchasing an additional 194,715 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SYK. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Stryker from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Stryker from $362.00 to $406.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $315.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Stryker from $345.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Stryker from $360.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $1,116,093.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,856,522. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO William E. Berry, Jr. sold 7,690 shares of Stryker 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,414. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 3,273 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $1,116,093.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,242 shares in the company, valued at $4,856,522. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 212,109 shares of company stock valued at $72,845,768. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $336.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $349.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a 12-month low of $249.98 and a 12-month high of $361.41. The firm has a market cap of $128.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Stryker Dividend Announcement

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

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.