Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. has reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 51.4% in the second quarter, now holding only 6,006 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in STERIS, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its position by 58.2% and Fifth Third Bancorp by 16.8% in the first quarter.
• STERIS recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.57, resulting in a 1.1% dividend yield.

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,006 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 6,342 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STE. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 58.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 16.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,893 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 11.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,078 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 12.4% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,255 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $237.92 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $244.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.07. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on STE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

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.

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