Lbp Am Sa Sells 2,566 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

LBP AM SA trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,953 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 2,566 shares during the quarter. LBP AM SA's holdings in STERIS were worth $5,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 122.5% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 17.1% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 23.6% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 5.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,951 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STE. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.83.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock traded down $2.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.92. 431,191 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,392. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.13.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. STERIS had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

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.