Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 11.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,408 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 666 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in STERIS by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 162,769 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,785,000 after purchasing an additional 18,947 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in STERIS by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,034 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,109,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other STERIS 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on STE shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $236.98 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The company has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a PE ratio of 62.04 and a beta of 0.83.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend 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.