AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Makes New $619,000 Investment in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,719 shares of the medical technology company's stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 316,404 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Stryker by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,639,725,000 after purchasing an additional 215,782 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stryker by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,484,893,000 after buying an additional 165,490 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the third quarter worth about $762,798,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 1.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,969,757 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $711,594,000 after buying an additional 28,421 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE:SYK traded down $2.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $386.47. The stock had a trading volume of 930,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,392,508. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $377.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.96.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SYK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $427.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stryker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $420.68.

Stryker Company 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.