STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 26.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,950 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 44,274 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.13% of STERIS worth $27,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on STE shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,410,467.56. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This trade represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE traded down $2.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.08. The stock had a trading volume of 774,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,316. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30 and a beta of 0.95. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.09.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 38.59%.

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.