STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 923,623 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 98,856 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.94% of STERIS worth $209,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of STE. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4,733.3% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 503.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This trade represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,959 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,764. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Trading Down 0.3%

STE stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.51. 466,774 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 661,603. 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 capitalization of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's payout ratio is 34.92%.

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.