Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 229.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,215 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,411 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $1,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 6,164 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,258,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth $4,847,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SNN shares. UBS Group downgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Trading Down 5.8 %

NYSE SNN opened at $26.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.83. The company has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12 month low of $23.65 and a 12 month high of $31.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.447 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

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.