Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Stake Trimmed by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,209 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 35,938 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Smith & Nephew worth $8,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SNN. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,980,334 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $81,304,000 after acquiring an additional 506,474 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 343.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,364,037 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $58,557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,965 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 649,795 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $16,095,000 after acquiring an additional 235,658 shares during the period. Clark Estates Inc. NY boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 83.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Estates Inc. NY now owns 550,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,624,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Smith & Nephew by 133.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 539,491 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,363,000 after acquiring an additional 308,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Smith & Nephew Price Performance

Shares of Smith & Nephew stock opened at $24.76 on Tuesday. 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 plc has a 52-week low of $21.52 and a 52-week high of $32.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.07.

Smith & Nephew Dividend Announcement

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

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.