Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,022,966 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 381,461 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.06% of Stryker worth $1,447,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Stryker by 2.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 316,404 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Stryker by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,306,994 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,639,725,000 after purchasing an additional 215,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 165,490 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Stryker by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,323,452 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 66,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker in the third quarter worth $762,798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Stryker from $409.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $404.35.

Stryker Stock Performance

NYSE SYK traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $374.60. 746,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,257,940. The business's 50 day moving average price is $372.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $354.65. Stryker Co. has a 52-week low of $285.79 and a 52-week high of $398.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $142.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Stryker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio is 34.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Stryker news, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 7,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.98, for a total value of $2,696,202.06. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,685,213.16. This represents a 42.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

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.