BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys Shares of 17,709 Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 17,709 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $435,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,120 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,667 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Smith & Nephew by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SNN shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target 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 cut Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Smith & Nephew from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. HSBC cut Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

Shares of SNN stock opened at $28.65 on Monday. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12-month low of $23.69 and a 12-month high of $31.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.43 and a 200-day moving average of $26.40.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

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.