Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $27.47 Million Stock Holdings in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 0.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,797 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Stryker were worth $27,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Stryker by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,653 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Stryker by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Stryker by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. United Community Bank grew its holdings in Stryker by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 904 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Stryker by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,323 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Trading Up 0.6%

SYK opened at $375.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $374.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Stryker Corporation has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical technology company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.11. Stryker had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 23.74%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SYK shares. BTIG Research set a $403.00 target price on shares of Stryker and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target (up previously from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $427.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.96, for a total value of $75,392,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,417,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,195,208.96. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.