STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Position Reduced by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in STERIS were worth $10,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STE. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 112.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STERIS Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $225.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.80. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.47 and a 52-week high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.07 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 56.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

STERIS 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.