Waterloo Capital L.P. Buys 59 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,916 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,608,434,000 after buying an additional 53,526 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STE. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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 reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE opened at $239.46 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.52. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.47 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The company has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 62.69 and a beta of 0.83.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company 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.