Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 1,932 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,758 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 165.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $238,836,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $223,987,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in STERIS by 35,759.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $92,980,000 after acquiring an additional 409,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $250,130,000 after acquiring an additional 378,252 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $263.83.

STERIS Trading Up 0.0%

STERIS stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $238.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 741,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $235.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.97. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This trade represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.