STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,448 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 570 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 7,905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $244.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 64.08 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.29.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.69%.

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.