US Bancorp DE Increases Stock Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,604 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,258,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,086,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SNN opened at $28.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.19. Smith & Nephew plc has a one year low of $23.65 and a one year high of $31.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

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.