Swedbank AB Acquires 8,200 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in STERIS plc by 3.3% in the second quarter, now owning 258,478 shares valued at approximately $62 million.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive views on STERIS, with multiple firms upgrading price targets, including Morgan Stanley raising its target from $276 to $295.
• STERIS announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.63, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.52 with a yield of 1.0%, up from the previous quarter's $0.57 dividend.

Swedbank AB grew its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,478 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.26% of STERIS worth $62,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 416.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in STERIS by 4,733.3% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in STERIS during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 503.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on STE shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STE traded down $1.79 on Friday, reaching $248.71. The company had a trading volume of 643,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,120. The company has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.06. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $253.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.59%.

About STERIS

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.