Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) Short Interest Up 16.5% in February

Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,730,000 shares, an increase of 16.5% from the February 13th total of 4,060,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stryker has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $421.90.

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Stryker Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SYK traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $371.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,372,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,207. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $384.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $141.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.86, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker has a 12-month low of $314.93 and a 12-month high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stryker will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. The trade was a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stryker

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $415,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Stryker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 49,884 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $17,961,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,143,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the fourth quarter worth $1,080,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

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.