STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 27.1%, resulting in ownership of 22,998 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• Steris recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63, representing a 1.0% dividend yield.
• The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting an 8.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,998 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 8,559 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in STERIS were worth $5,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,710,247,000 after purchasing an additional 46,628 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.1% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in STERIS by 5.4% during the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,354,545 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $760,308,000 after acquiring an additional 170,392 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake 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 worth $534,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter worth approximately $349,950,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Down 0.6%

STERIS stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.94. 431,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 589,224. The business has a fifty day moving average of $237.16 and a 200 day moving average of $232.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36 and a beta of 0.95. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $200.98 and a 12-month high of $253.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%.STERIS's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 38.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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.