KBC Group NV Sells 60,119 Shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,340 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 60,119 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of Stryker worth $143,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elefante Mark B acquired a new position in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $337,000. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 3.4% during the first quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 98,216 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $36,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 1.9% in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 174,871 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $65,096,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,840,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,841 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,195,208.96. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SYK shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective (up from $443.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $450.00 target price on Stryker in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Stryker from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $427.30.

Stryker Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SYK opened at $393.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $375.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.64. Stryker Corporation has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical technology company reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.41%.

Stryker 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.