Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 47,116 Shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 59.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,789 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,116 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $3,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNN. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Smith & Nephew by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $49,947,000 after purchasing an additional 792,829 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,363,039 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $33,504,000 after buying an additional 138,994 shares during the period. Clark Estates Inc. NY boosted its stake in Smith & Nephew by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 800,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,664,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Smith & Nephew by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233,155 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Smith & Nephew in the third quarter valued at $7,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Smith & Nephew Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $28.08 on Friday. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12-month low of $23.65 and a 12-month high of $31.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Profile

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.