Swiss National Bank Decreases Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,360 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of STERIS worth $63,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,710,247,000 after acquiring an additional 46,628 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,232,828,000 after buying an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $534,400,000 after buying an additional 1,619,796 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 2.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,295,275 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $293,574,000 after buying an additional 33,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $249,352,000 after buying an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of STERIS from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $276.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $263.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.33.

STERIS Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $243.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.81. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $252.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.