Kimelman & Baird LLC Sells 10,207 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Kimelman & Baird LLC has reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 39.8% in the first quarter, now holding 15,466 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• STERIS recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.63, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, up from the previous $0.57.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.34 EPS, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $1.40 billion and a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.8%.

Kimelman & Baird LLC decreased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 39.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,466 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 10,207 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $3,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,710,247,000 after purchasing an additional 46,628 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in STERIS by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,232,828,000 after acquiring an additional 452,146 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in STERIS by 165.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in STERIS by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,295,275 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $293,574,000 after buying an additional 33,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $249,352,000 after buying an additional 83,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,448,929.62. This trade represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,131 shares of company stock worth $8,023,737 in the last quarter. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price target for the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE traded up $2.7520 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $247.3120. The stock had a trading volume of 376,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,170. The firm has a market cap of $24.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.84. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 34.92%.

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.