GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Takes Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• GC Wealth Management RIA LLC has acquired a new position in STERIS plc, purchasing 1,035 shares valued at approximately $249,000 during the second quarter.
• STERIS announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.63 per share, up from the previous $0.57, representing a 1.0% dividend yield.
• The stock has a market cap of $23.87 billion and recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.34, surpassing estimates and showing an 8.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,035 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 3.5% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its position in STERIS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC grew its position in STERIS by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,999 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE STE opened at $242.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $242.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.12. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $253.00.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. Corporate 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.

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