Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $1.78 Million Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 15.9%, selling 1,488 shares to hold a total of 7,867 shares valued at approximately $1.78 million.
• CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares for over $4.27 million, representing a 25.54% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• STERIS recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.57 to $0.63, reflecting a positive change with a yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 34.92%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,867 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $1,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in STERIS by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,710,247,000 after acquiring an additional 46,628 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in STERIS by 9.1% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 452,146 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in STERIS by 165.3% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $534,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in STERIS by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,295,275 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $293,574,000 after acquiring an additional 33,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in STERIS by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $249,352,000 after acquiring an additional 83,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.4%

STERIS stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.16. 447,191 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 603,199. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70 and a beta of 0.92.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 an increase 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%. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,959 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,764. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on STE. JMP Securities raised 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.