Callahan Advisors LLC Purchases 2,807 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,376 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $9,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 122.5% in the first 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 during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 17.1% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 23.6% in the first 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 503.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 5.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,951 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,029,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on STE. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.83.

STERIS Trading Down 1.1%

STE stock traded down $2.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $225.61. 833,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 552,522. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.56 and a 200-day moving average of $226.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 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.