AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 507.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,150 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 153,821 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of STERIS worth $41,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,710,247,000 after acquiring an additional 46,628 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,232,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in STERIS by 5.4% in the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,354,545 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $760,308,000 after purchasing an additional 170,392 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in STERIS by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $534,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares during the period. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in STERIS in the first quarter valued at $349,950,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on STE shares. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STE traded down $3.15 on Friday, hitting $249.28. 165,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 587,619. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $237.16 and its 200 day moving average is $232.91. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $253.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase 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 currently 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.