Stryker Corporation posted nearly 10.6% rise in adjusted earnings per share to $1.15 in the third quarter of 2014 from $1.04 in the prior-year quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

Stryker (SYK) is a rarity in the current market: a strong business with a stock that is still attractively valued.

When is the right time to not be satisfied with a 12% return year to date? How do you know when to sell for an acceptable profit versus holding a good position because the stock still has attractive value?

I think that most investors can agree that performing careful due diligence on an investment is a necessity. What investors cannot seem to agree on, though, is what constitutes “due diligence.”

September E-mini S&Ps (ESU14 +0.16%) this morning are up +0.19% on optimism that Q2 company earnings results will remain strong, while European stocks are down -0.17% after German investor confidence dropped for an eighth month.

A basic investment concept is to that high quality stocks fare better in down markets than low quality stocks, and therefore in late stages of a Bull market with generally fully valued stocks, tilting equity allocations toward high quality is prudent.