Rathbones Group PLC Buys 1,659 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,464 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.13% of STERIS worth $28,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in STERIS by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $379,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its stake in STERIS by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 7,905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. 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, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.00.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $244.83 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.09 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 59.69%.

About STERIS

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.