WCM Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

WCM Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,099,115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,405,472 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $501,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 416.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 4,733.3% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 503.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $236.71 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25 and a beta of 1.01. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $253.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for 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%. STERIS’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

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.