LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Sells 4,914 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• LaFleur & Godfrey LLC sold 4,914 shares of STERIS plc, reducing its holdings by 10.5% and maintaining approximately $10 million in STERIS stock, which makes up 1.3% of their investment portfolio.
• STERIS recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 38.59%.
• STERIS reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.34, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue growth of 8.8% year-over-year, totaling $1.40 billion for the quarter.

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,727 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 4,914 shares during the quarter. STERIS makes up about 1.3% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $10,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,710,247,000 after purchasing an additional 46,628 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 purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its position 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 valued at $760,308,000 after purchasing an additional 170,392 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 1st quarter worth about $349,950,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 55.2% in the 1st 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. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $248.71 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $239.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.07. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. 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 yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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.com, STERIS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 transaction of $798,564.96. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. 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.

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