Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in STERIS plc by 2.6%, acquiring 2,533 shares, bringing their total ownership to 98,148 shares valued at approximately $22.25 million.
• STERIS recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.57, reflecting a positive outlook with an annualized yield of 1.0%.
• The company's stock has received several upgrades, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,148 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of STERIS worth $22,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in STERIS by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 82,604 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $16,946,000 after purchasing an additional 39,894 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $291,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in STERIS by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 42,186 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $8,672,000 after buying an additional 11,871 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $502,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,299.80. This represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,335 shares of company stock worth $8,822,302. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.2%

STE stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.26. The stock had a trading volume of 552,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,124. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

About STERIS

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.