Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 15,131 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 5.7%, holding 250,531 shares valued at approximately $56.78 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions in STERIS, with Adage Capital Partners increasing their stake by 39.2% in the last quarter.
• STERIS announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63 per share, reflecting a positive change in its financial strategy.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,531 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 15,131 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.25% of STERIS worth $56,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in STERIS by 4,733.3% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 503.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Up 0.2%

STE stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.26. 561,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,020. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $235.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.34. The stock has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders 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 represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 34.92%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,335 shares of company stock worth $8,822,302. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.