STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 36.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,017 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,872 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STE. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 3.9% in the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on STE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE STE opened at $229.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

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.