Trust Co. of Vermont Acquires 1,887 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,699 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Stryker were worth $11,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its stake in Stryker by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 50,616 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $18,224,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth $307,000. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc grew its position in Stryker by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 3,935 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc raised its stake in Stryker by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc now owns 3,931 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stryker Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SYK stock traded up $2.12 on Friday, reaching $383.91. 1,727,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,070,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $375.51 and a 200-day moving average of $358.98. The company has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.15, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $307.23 and a one year high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.10. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. 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 issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase 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 0.88%. Stryker's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.70, for a total transaction of $21,131,303.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,027 shares in the company, valued at $36,879,954.90. The trade was a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Stryker from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $442.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Stryker from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $405.80.

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.