American Trust Purchases 1,246 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

American Trust boosted its position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,132 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Stryker were worth $5,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Stryker by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,820 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Stryker by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,258 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Stryker by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 13,645 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Stryker by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,844 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stryker Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Stryker stock traded down $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $331.56. 1,738,648 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,432,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $126.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $338.87 and a 200-day moving average of $339.79. Stryker Co. has a 12 month low of $249.98 and a 12 month high of $361.41.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stryker Co. will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $386.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $392.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $367.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Stryker from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Stryker from $375.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stryker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stryker news, CFO Glenn S. Boehnlein sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.00, for a total value of $6,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,852 shares in the company, valued at $949,716. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.