Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 1,140 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in STERIS plc by 201.8% during Q2, acquiring an additional 1,140 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,705 shares valued at $410,000.
• Company insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares amounting to $4,585,389, with the VP Renato Tamaro and Director Cynthia L. Feldmann notably reducing their shares significantly.
• STERIS increased its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 38.59%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 201.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,705 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in STERIS were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership bought a new position in STERIS in the first quarter valued at $25,958,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in STERIS in the first quarter valued at $261,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in STERIS by 31.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $23,229,000 after purchasing an additional 24,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.5%

STERIS stock opened at $236.71 on Thursday. 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 plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $253.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25 and a beta of 1.01.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp raised their price target on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

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.

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