Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp lowered its stake in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,178 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Stryker makes up approximately 0.9% of First Merchants Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Stryker were worth $22,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,710,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Stryker by 43,226.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,074,922 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $772,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,133 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter valued at $353,394,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,892,946,000 after acquiring an additional 727,850 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Stryker by 52,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 596,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $214,660,000 after buying an additional 595,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Stryker

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

Stryker Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of SYK stock opened at $390.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $149.11 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.91. Stryker Corporation has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $378.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $375.38.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical technology company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.68 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.74% and a net margin of 12.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYK. BTIG Research set a $403.00 price target on Stryker and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target (up from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $422.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.30.

Stryker Company Profile

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.