Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 17,300 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 80.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in STERIS were worth $8,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in STERIS by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 112.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

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 stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, 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 hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $244.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 64.08 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.47 and a one year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. 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 0.93%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 59.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.