Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 41,181 Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 41,181 shares of the medical technology company's stock, valued at approximately $14,827,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYK. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Stryker by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stryker by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 17,505 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $6,303,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp increased its position in shares of Stryker by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 16,219 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stryker by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 841 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK traded up $2.12 on Friday, hitting $383.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,727,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,070,245. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $375.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $307.23 and a 1-year high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Stryker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Stryker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Stryker from $375.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $405.80.

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.