Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Trims Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management cut its STERIS stake by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,230 shares and leaving it with 9,963 shares valued at about $2.53 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 94.69%, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and others adding to their positions in recent quarters.
• STERIS reported Q4 EPS of $2.53, matching analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, implying a 1.2% yield.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,963 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 5,230 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in STERIS were worth $2,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,114,882,000 after purchasing an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of STERIS by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,077,564,000 after purchasing an additional 166,736 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $387,797,000 after purchasing an additional 221,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,280,142 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $316,758,000 after purchasing an additional 59,443 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. This trade represents a 81.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.20.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $207.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.30 and a 200 day moving average of $244.27. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.15%.

STERIS Profile

STERIS Corporation NYSE: STE is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.

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