Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 73,794 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 79.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 166,403 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,794 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $4,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SNN. Causeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter valued at $11,820,000. Mariner LLC raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 64,146 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 22,218 shares during the period. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter worth about $431,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,557 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 2,798 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $25.90 on Friday. Smith & Nephew plc has a twelve month low of $23.69 and a twelve month high of $31.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.447 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.