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 lessened its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Edge Advisors LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,999 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE traded down $2.35 on Friday, reaching $250.08. The company had a trading volume of 774,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,316. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.16.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. 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 yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Six equities 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, STERIS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have 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.