Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 971,735 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 132,513 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Stryker were worth $350,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,570 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Stryker by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,789 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Stryker by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,121 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors raised its position in shares of Stryker by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 996 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 398,422 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $143,934,000 after purchasing an additional 23,329 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE:SYK opened at $361.52 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $375.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $357.19. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $292.96 and a 1-year high of $398.20. The firm has a market cap of $137.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.10. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $405.00 to $427.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Stryker in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.