Aprio Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC made a $295,000 investment by acquiring 1,303 shares of STERIS plc in the first quarter of 2023.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in STERIS, with Adage Capital Partners growing its position by 112.6%, now holding shares valued at over $20 million.
• STERIS announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.63 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.57 dividend.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,303 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,329 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $6,234,000 after purchasing an additional 12,511 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in STERIS by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,756 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in STERIS by 526.1% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 19,628 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $4,035,000 after acquiring an additional 16,493 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in STERIS by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 163,280 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,564,000 after acquiring an additional 50,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. This trade represents a 30.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on STE. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $2.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,192. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $252.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $236.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's payout ratio is 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.