Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,843 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 35,531 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $8,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Smith & Nephew by 16.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 114,080 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 16,397 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 114,226 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Smith & Nephew by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

SNN opened at $28.31 on Friday. Smith & Nephew plc has a 1-year low of $23.69 and a 1-year high of $31.72. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.447 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNN has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Smith & Nephew from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Smith & Nephew from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.