Sterling Capital Management LLC Invests $265,000 in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,767 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SNN. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $49,947,000 after purchasing an additional 792,829 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,363,039 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,504,000 after buying an additional 138,994 shares in the last quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY raised its position in Smith & Nephew by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 800,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $19,664,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 535,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $13,159,000 after acquiring an additional 57,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233,155 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SNN shares. UBS Group cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. HSBC cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of Smith & Nephew stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.55. The company had a trading volume of 367,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,824. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Smith & Nephew plc has a one year low of $23.69 and a one year high of $31.72. The firm has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.37.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.447 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. Smith & Nephew's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.