B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Reduces Holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,357 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 8,254 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Stryker were worth $29,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Stryker by 618.2% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK stock traded down $18.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,054,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,075. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $314.93 and a 12 month high of $406.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $382.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SYK shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $442.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $421.90.

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.