QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,559 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 122.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in STERIS were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 12.4% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,255 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 33.8% during the first quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 6.7% during the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 72,692 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $16,071,000 after acquiring an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 23.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in STERIS by 118.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 7,325 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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 objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% 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.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $235.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.96. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's payout ratio is 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.

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