New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 4,119 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,374 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 4,119 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of STERIS worth $17,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth $238,836,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth $223,987,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in STERIS by 35,759.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $92,980,000 after purchasing an additional 409,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $250,130,000 after buying an additional 378,252 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on STE. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities upped their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.83.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock traded down $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $237.55. The stock had a trading volume of 242,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,766. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $252.79. The business's 50 day moving average is $237.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.87.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.