Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 580,782 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,945 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.59% of STERIS worth $131,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,710,247,000 after buying an additional 46,628 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 9.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,232,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,146 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 165.3% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $534,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in STERIS by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $249,352,000 after acquiring an additional 83,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,129,579 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $256,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,936 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. 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 for the company. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,208,026.24. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,959 shares of company stock worth $11,231,764. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $243.72. 341,082 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,378. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $252.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.09.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.92%.

STERIS 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.