Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $420.68.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SYK shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Stryker Stock Performance

SYK stock opened at $385.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $377.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.92. The company has a market capitalization of $146.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.62, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. Stryker has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stryker will post 13.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stryker

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stryker by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,698,828 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $11,773,213,000 after acquiring an additional 252,188 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Stryker by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,582,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,279,788,000 after purchasing an additional 316,404 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Stryker by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,109,722 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,000,056,000 after purchasing an additional 54,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Stryker by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,034,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,892,946,000 after purchasing an additional 727,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Stryker by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,073,562 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,539,033,000 after purchasing an additional 168,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% 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.