Highland Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,915 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Smith & Nephew were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter worth about $785,000. Harrington Investments INC bought a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth $272,000. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,980,334 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $81,304,000 after purchasing an additional 506,474 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter valued at $422,000. Institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

Smith & Nephew stock opened at $26.33 on Thursday. Smith & Nephew plc has a 12-month low of $21.52 and a 12-month high of $33.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Smith & Nephew Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.462 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.