D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 340.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,587 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 128,780 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $4,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNN. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $49,947,000 after acquiring an additional 792,829 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,820,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Smith & Nephew by 169.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,392 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $12,496,000 after buying an additional 320,054 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,992,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at $4,847,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

NYSE SNN opened at $28.83 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. Smith & Nephew plc has a 52-week low of $23.69 and a 52-week high of $31.72.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

About Smith & Nephew

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.