Avanza Fonder AB Acquires New Shares in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,785 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,984 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,119,643 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $230,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,419 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in STERIS by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,816 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $5,923,000 after buying an additional 16,300 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in STERIS by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,212 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,921,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.83.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,385 shares in the company, valued at $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $242.20. The company had a trading volume of 360,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,851. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $252.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

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.