1,152 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has invested $261,000 in STERIS plc by acquiring 1,152 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock during the first quarter.
• STERIS recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63, an increase from the previous $0.57, with a dividend yield of 1.0%.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for STERIS, with Morgan Stanley now predicting a target price of $295.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,152 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STE. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at $349,950,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,232,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $92,980,000 after purchasing an additional 409,093 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at $65,435,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.08. The stock had a trading volume of 774,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 476,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $253.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30 and a beta of 0.95.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last ninety days. 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.