Mariner LLC Purchases 22,218 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,146 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,218 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 143,846 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew in the third quarter worth $245,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 16.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 114,080 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 16,397 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 75,979 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 4,336 shares during the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SNN opened at $27.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12 month low of $23.69 and a 12 month high of $31.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.37.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. Smith & Nephew’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

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.