STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Holdings Cut by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 84.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,028 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,626 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,608,434,000 after purchasing an additional 53,526 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $390,880,000 after buying an additional 120,616 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 282,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following 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.

STERIS Trading Down 2.8 %

STERIS stock opened at $235.78 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of 61.72 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.73.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share 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 given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

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.