Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 215 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,666 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in STERIS were worth $24,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,608,434,000 after purchasing an additional 53,526 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in STERIS by 13.7% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in STERIS by 7.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after buying an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake 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 valued at $333,988,000 after buying an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 29.7% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $236.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.26 and a 200-day moving average of $225.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.04 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24. 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 (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 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 analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. 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. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.