STERIS plc $STE Shares Acquired by CW Advisors LLC

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in STERIS plc by 15.6%, owning approximately 0.06% of the company, valued at $14.19 million as per recent SEC filings.
• The stock has received a variety of analyst ratings, with a consensus average target price of $273.50, and six analysts giving it a Buy rating.
• STERIS announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.63 per share, reflecting positive growth and a yield of 1.0%.

CW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,585 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of STERIS worth $14,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STE. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 35,759.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $92,980,000 after purchasing an additional 409,093 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS during the first quarter worth about $65,435,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4,534.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 219,032 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,024,000 after purchasing an additional 214,306 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities upped their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE traded up $4.2320 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.7320. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,306. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $252.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company's 50-day moving average is $234.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.62.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,335 shares of company stock valued at $8,822,302. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.