Norden Group LLC Cuts Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Norden Group LLC decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,456 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 4,733.3% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 503.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 220 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $2.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $226.54. The company had a trading volume of 700,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,885. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $252.79. The stock has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $236.23 and its 200 day moving average is $227.70. 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 (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.33.

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.