Inspire Investing LLC Purchases 3,748 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has increased its stake in STERIS plc by 36.3%, acquiring an additional 3,748 shares, bringing their total holdings to 14,084 shares valued at $3,383,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and UBS AM, have also increased their stakes, with institutional ownership approaching 94.69% of the company’s stock.
• STERIS recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, up from $0.57, reflecting a 1.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.59%.

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 36.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,084 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,748 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $3,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,710,247,000 after purchasing an additional 46,628 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 worth $1,232,828,000 after acquiring an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in STERIS by 5.4% during the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,354,545 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $760,308,000 after acquiring an additional 170,392 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter worth approximately $349,950,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 55.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,520,479 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $344,617,000 after acquiring an additional 540,999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Down 1.6%

STERIS stock opened at $235.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $244.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 1.01. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $253.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.STERIS's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,299.80. This represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.

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