American Trust Sells 71 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

American Trust lowered its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in STERIS were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 0.8% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 13,857 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in STERIS by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $234.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.84. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.45 and a beta of 0.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.69%.

STERIS 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.