Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Acquires New Shares in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,575 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded STERIS from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $276.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.69. 733,675 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 634,152. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.84. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. STERIS's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's payout ratio is 40.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This trade represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at $12,463,945.60. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.