The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,562 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of STERIS worth $13,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STE. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. KeyCorp raised their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

STERIS Trading Down 0.4 %

STE opened at $234.73 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $237.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.45 and a beta of 0.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’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 transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.