Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 421,968 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 23,546 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Stryker worth $151,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $115,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Stryker by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Stryker in the fourth quarter valued at $126,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Stryker by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Stryker by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYK opened at $385.05 on Tuesday. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $314.93 and a 52 week high of $406.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $146.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.62, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $377.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Stryker Co. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stryker

In other Stryker news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total value of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $380.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $384.00 to $427.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.68.

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.