DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $7.22 Million Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,327 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in STERIS were worth $7,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at $220,954,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $74,963,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in STERIS by 23.5% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after acquiring an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in STERIS by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 1,946.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after purchasing an additional 257,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

STERIS Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of STE opened at $243.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.47 and a 52-week high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.79 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.49 and its 200-day moving average is $225.27.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.69%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $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 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

STERIS 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.