Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 18,591 Shares of Stryker Corporation $SYK

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 92.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,705 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,591 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $12,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Stryker in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP M Kathryn Fink sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.45, for a total transaction of $992,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,170.65. This represents a 95.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 310,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.23, for a total value of $96,791,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,924,880 shares in the company, valued at $601,005,282.40. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 323,264 shares of company stock worth $100,659,489. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stryker Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE SYK opened at $352.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $135.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $316.38 and a 200-day moving average of $335.11. Stryker Corporation has a 1-year low of $281.00 and a 1-year high of $403.22.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical technology company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.98 by ($0.38). Stryker had a return on equity of 23.42% and a net margin of 13.20%.The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Stryker Corporation will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SYK. Robert W. Baird set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a report on Friday, May 1st. Argus set a $370.00 price target on shares of Stryker in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Stryker from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Stryker from $456.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stryker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.39.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation is a global medical technology company that designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products and services for use in hospitals, surgeons’ offices and other healthcare facilities. Its primary business activities span orthopedics (including joint replacement implants, trauma and extremities products), surgical equipment and operating room technologies (such as visualization, navigation and powered instruments), neurotechnology and spine solutions, and patient-handling and emergency medical equipment.