Boston Trust Walden Corp Purchases 31,530 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,271 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 31,530 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.26% of STERIS worth $58,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $534,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,796 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in STERIS by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,359,748 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $483,775,000 after purchasing an additional 56,123 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in STERIS by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,261,927 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $257,585,000 after purchasing an additional 172,795 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $250,130,000 after purchasing an additional 378,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in STERIS by 7.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 83,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE traded down $0.77 on Friday, hitting $235.46. The stock had a trading volume of 665,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,550. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $234.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.43. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 0.94. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

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.