West Coast Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,020 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Stryker comprises 1.3% of West Coast Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $12,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYK. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stryker by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Stryker by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in Stryker by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 8,239 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 0.4% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,047 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,268,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Stryker by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 7,547 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This trade represents a 36.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of Stryker stock opened at $367.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $140.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. Stryker Co. has a twelve month low of $307.23 and a twelve month high of $398.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $375.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.25.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Stryker’s payout ratio is presently 36.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYK. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Stryker in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Stryker from $383.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stryker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stryker has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $405.80.

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.