Running Oak Capital LLC Acquires 2,561 Shares of Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,543 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,561 shares during the quarter. Stryker accounts for about 1.8% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $13,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Stryker by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 76 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR lifted its stake in shares of Stryker by 106.7% in the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 93 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stryker during the third quarter worth about $36,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Stryker during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Stryker in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 77.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In other news, CEO Kevin Lobo sold 57,313 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,879,954.90. This represents a 36.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Stryker from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Stryker from $405.00 to $427.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Stryker from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Stryker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $370.00 to $445.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.80.

Stryker Price Performance

SYK opened at $394.08 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $376.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $360.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.23 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. Stryker Co. has a 52 week low of $307.23 and a 52 week high of $398.20.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The medical technology company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Stryker had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Stryker’s payout ratio is 36.01%.

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.