Dearborn Partners LLC Reduces Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,696 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 21,119 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.11% of STERIS worth $23,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 122.5% during 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. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of STERIS by 31.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $23,229,000 after acquiring an additional 24,809 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 23.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 503.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in STERIS by 17.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% 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. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of STERIS from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $276.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $226.69. 733,675 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,808. The firm has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $235.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.84. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two 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.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.