2,211 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Acquired by Granite Harbor Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. acquired 2,211 shares of STERIS plc, valued at approximately $501,000, marking a notable new investment during the 1st quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in STERIS, with Select Equity Group L.P. lifting its position by 165.3% and GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by an astonishing 35,759.9%.
• STERIS recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,211 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in STERIS by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $534,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,796 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in STERIS by 9.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,232,828,000 after buying an additional 452,146 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 35,759.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $92,980,000 after buying an additional 409,093 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in STERIS during the first quarter valued at $65,435,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in STERIS by 4,534.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 219,032 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,024,000 after buying an additional 214,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock traded up $4.2320 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.7320. 375,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 595,316. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $252.79. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 34.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,131 shares of company stock valued at $8,023,737 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp raised 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, JMP Securities raised their price target on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.