Stryker (NYSE:SYK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on SYK. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $416.40.

Stryker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK traded down $0.59 on Thursday, hitting $390.48. 1,681,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,603,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $376.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $362.18. Stryker has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Stryker will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Stryker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Stryker's payout ratio is 36.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Stryker

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.09% of the company's stock.

About Stryker

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.