Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in STERIS plc by 5.7%, acquiring an additional 9,789 shares, bringing its total holdings to 180,620 shares valued at approximately $40.9 million.
• STERIS recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, which marks an increase from the previous dividend of $0.57, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for STERIS shares, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target at $295, while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 180,620 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,789 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.18% of STERIS worth $40,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in STERIS by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $23,229,000 after buying an additional 24,809 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in STERIS by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in STERIS by 503.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in STERIS by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.53. The stock had a trading volume of 383,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,808. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $253.00. The company has a market cap of $24.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.91. 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 (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 1.0%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.