Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires 11,428 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in STERIS plc by 1.0%, acquiring an additional 11,428 shares to own approximately 1.12% of the company, valued at $249.5 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Daniel A. Carestio selling 17,626 shares for over $4.27 million, resulting in a 25.54% decrease in his holdings.
• STERIS recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.63 per share, up from $0.57, providing a yield of 1.0%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,101,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,428 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.12% of STERIS worth $249,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,710,247,000 after acquiring an additional 46,628 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 buying an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted 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 buying an additional 1,619,796 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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 buying an additional 33,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,959 shares of company stock worth $11,231,764 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on STE. KeyCorp increased their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:STE opened at $245.51 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $252.79. 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 has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $234.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $229.61.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.92%.

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.

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