Eventide Asset Management LLC Buys 4,400 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in STERIS plc by 2.7%, owning approximately 0.17% of the company, valued at $37.5 million, after adding 4,400 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Insider trading activity saw VP Renato Tamaro and Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sell significant shares, with Tamaro's sale representing a 30.73% decrease in ownership, and a total of 18,709 shares sold by insiders over the last three months.
• Brokerage analysts have recently increased the target prices for STERIS shares, with Morgan Stanley raising it to $295.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 165,599 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of STERIS worth $37,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in STERIS by 165.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in STERIS in the 1st quarter worth about $349,950,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in STERIS by 9.1% in the 1st 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in STERIS by 35,759.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,435,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.04. 331,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 445,220. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $236.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.24. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.63 dividend. 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%. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 38.59%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% 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 worth $4,546,940 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

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.