Oak Thistle LLC Reduces Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Oak Thistle LLC cut its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 63.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,029 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 5,356 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.1% in 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 buying an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $250,130,000 after purchasing an additional 378,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the 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 owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock traded up $3.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.80. The stock had a trading volume of 650,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 653,828. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $252.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $237.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STERIS from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $276.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities lifted their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.33.

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.