Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 1,212 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,586 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Stryker comprises 1.4% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $10,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Stryker by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Stryker in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Stock Down 1.0 %

SYK stock opened at $382.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $378.07 and its 200 day moving average is $368.99. Stryker Co. has a one year low of $314.93 and a one year high of $406.19.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last released 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 net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SYK. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Stryker in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $411.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $422.15.

Insider Activity

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

Stryker Company 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.