Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Sells 426 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,338 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. STERIS makes up 1.5% of Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 122.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $25,958,000. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $261,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 31.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $23,229,000 after acquiring an additional 24,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 23.6% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on STE shares. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.50.

STERIS Trading Down 1.6%

STERIS stock opened at $235.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $244.33 and its 200 day moving average is $235.80.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 38.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.82, for a total value of $38,449.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,356,034.72. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About STERIS

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.