First Financial Bank Trust Division Cuts Stock Position in Stryker Corporation $SYK

First Financial Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in shares of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,556 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Stryker comprises 1.1% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Stryker were worth $12,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYK. Hobart Private Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Stryker by 51.9% during the third quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stryker by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,127,559 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $446,097,000 after purchasing an additional 28,716 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Stryker during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,630,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Stryker by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,572 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Finally, Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Stryker in the second quarter worth $611,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stryker

In other Stryker news, CFO Preston Wendell Wells sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.88, for a total value of $60,370.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,694 shares in the company, valued at $2,449,200.72. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 276,173 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.28, for a total value of $97,566,397.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,702,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $954,600,714.24. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 522,118 shares of company stock valued at $185,381,932. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Partners set a $420.00 price objective on Stryker in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Stryker from $392.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Stryker from $452.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Stryker from $443.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stryker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stryker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $431.83.

Stryker Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE SYK opened at $353.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $135.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Stryker Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $329.16 and a fifty-two week high of $406.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $378.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical technology company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.06. Stryker had a return on equity of 24.07% and a net margin of 12.07%.The company had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Stryker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-13.600 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Stryker Corporation will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Stryker Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from Stryker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.15%.

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.