Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,046 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 valued at $390,880,000 after acquiring an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 23.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 282,387 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,017,888 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $223,467,000 after purchasing an additional 8,601 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE opened at $225.65 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $235.66 and its 200 day moving average is $226.07. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.07 and a beta of 0.84.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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