Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Has $11.44 Million Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,492 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 6,439 shares during the quarter. STERIS makes up about 0.7% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. owned about 0.05% of STERIS worth $11,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STE. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,836,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 35,759.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $92,980,000 after acquiring an additional 409,093 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 378,252 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 4,534.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 219,032 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,024,000 after purchasing an additional 214,306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on STE. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.83.

STERIS Price Performance

STE traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 551,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,275. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $238.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.56. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

STERIS Company 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.