AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 153,821 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 507.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,150 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 153,821 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of STERIS worth $41,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STE. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 165.3% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $534,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $349,950,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,232,828,000 after acquiring an additional 452,146 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 35,759.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $92,980,000 after acquiring an additional 409,093 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $65,435,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STERIS stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $248.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 396,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,037. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.63. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $252.79. The company has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. JMP Securities lifted their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the business'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 sale, the director owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.