Raymond James & Associates Increases Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,005 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in STERIS were worth $194,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in STERIS by 77.9% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in STERIS by 112.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in STERIS by 2,262.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 189 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $225.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.07 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.01.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 59.69%.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.