HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,044 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 16.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 3.9% during the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,335 shares of company stock valued at $8,822,302. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STE opened at $251.7320 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $234.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.51. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $252.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 34.92%.

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.