Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 51,348 Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 51,348 shares of the medical technology company's stock, valued at approximately $18,488,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYK. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Stryker by 2.2% in the third 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. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 215,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 165,490 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 2.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 66,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stryker during the third quarter worth about $762,798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Stryker Price Performance

NYSE:SYK traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $383.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,727,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,246. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $307.23 and a 52-week high of $398.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $375.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $358.48. The company has a market capitalization of $146.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.15, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Stryker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Stryker's payout ratio is 36.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $405.00 to $427.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $405.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total value of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% 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.