1,375 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Bought by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Key Points

• Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired 1,375 shares of STERIS plc, valued at approximately $330,000, in the second quarter, contributing to the high institutional ownership of 94.69% in the company.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about STERIS, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target price boosts, including Morgan Stanley's increase from $276.00 to $295.00.
• STERIS recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.63 per share, a positive change from the previous $0.57, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 38.59%.

Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,375 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 1.2% during the second quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,359 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,642,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in STERIS by 5.3% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 33,800 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $8,119,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 2.6% during the second quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 9,867 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,370,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 312,061 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $74,963,000 after buying an additional 9,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.5% during the second quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 12,848 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,086,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 159 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,356,034.72. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $235.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 1.01.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.59%.

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.

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