10,438 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Acquired by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in STERIS plc, purchasing 10,438 shares valued at approximately $2.37 million.
• STERIS recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.63 per share, representing a yield of 1.0% and an annualized payout of $2.52.
• In its latest earnings report, STERIS reported earnings of $2.34 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing an 8.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,438 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,366,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,329 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $6,234,000 after purchasing an additional 12,511 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,756 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 526.1% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 19,628 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $4,035,000 after acquiring an additional 16,493 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 163,280 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $33,564,000 after acquiring an additional 50,514 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on STE. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JMP Securities lifted their price objective 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 lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of STE traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.04. The company had a trading volume of 331,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,598. The company's 50 day moving average price is $236.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.32. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53 and a beta of 0.95. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS 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 issued a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.59%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.