Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 34,749 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 586,698 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 34,749 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.60% of STERIS worth $132,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Edge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in STERIS by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 975 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.0% in the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STE. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.83.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of STERIS 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $230.44. The stock had a trading volume of 530,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,899. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $238.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

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.