STERIS plc $STE Shares Purchased by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in STERIS plc by 3.7%, owning 75,383 shares valued at approximately $17.4 million, making it the firm's 23rd largest position.
• The company has received multiple analyst upgrades, including a price target increase from KeyCorp and Morgan Stanley, reflecting a generally positive outlook with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• STERIS recently announced a dividend increase to $0.63 per share, with a yield of 1.0%, reflecting a solid payout ratio of 38.59%, demonstrating their strong financial health.

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,383 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,691 shares during the quarter. STERIS makes up approximately 1.2% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of STERIS worth $17,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS by 1.0% during the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 3.9% in the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price target 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, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the sale, the director owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $249.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.16 and a beta of 0.95. 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 50-day moving average of $240.07 and a 200 day moving average of $234.29. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

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