Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Institutional Trading of Smith & Nephew

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 343.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,364,037 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $58,557,000 after buying an additional 1,830,965 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter worth about $29,884,000. Scharf Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,980,334 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $81,304,000 after purchasing an additional 506,474 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew during the third quarter worth about $8,174,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Smith & Nephew by 133.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 539,491 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,363,000 after purchasing an additional 308,559 shares during the period. 25.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of Smith & Nephew stock opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. Smith & Nephew has a 1-year low of $21.52 and a 1-year high of $32.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Smith & Nephew Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.462 per share. This represents a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.