Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Stock Holdings Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 421,968 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 23,546 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Stryker worth $151,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 316,404 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Stryker by 3.0% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Stryker by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,905,126 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,484,893,000 after purchasing an additional 165,490 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in Stryker during the third quarter worth approximately $762,798,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 28,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company's stock.

Stryker Stock Down 1.0 %

SYK traded down $3.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $382.59. 1,268,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,388,856. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $378.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.67. The company has a market cap of $145.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.30, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. Stryker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $314.93 and a fifty-two week high of $406.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

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

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased 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. Citigroup increased their price target 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. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stryker currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.68.

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.