STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,533 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,424 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in STERIS were worth $7,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,954,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,963,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in shares of STERIS by 23.5% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after acquiring an additional 282,387 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 603,879 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $132,763,000 after acquiring an additional 252,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were 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 $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were 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 $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report 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, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock opened at $244.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market cap of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.09 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.24. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 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.