Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 1,340 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,584 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Stryker were worth $2,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SYK. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 94.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In related news, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This represents a 14.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,642,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SYK shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Stryker from $366.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Stryker from $418.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.68.

Stryker Trading Down 1.0 %

SYK stock traded down $3.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $382.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,268,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,388,856. The company has a market cap of $145.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average price is $378.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $368.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Stryker Co. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 13.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 43.30%.

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.