STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its stake in STERIS plc by 6.3%, holding 47,333 shares valued at approximately $11.37 million after selling 3,159 shares in the second quarter.
• STERIS recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.34, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $1.40 billion, marking an 8.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, to be paid on September 26th.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lessened its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,333 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 3,159 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in STERIS were worth $11,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balefire LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS in the second quarter worth about $258,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 1.4% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,852 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 6.9% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 4,699 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in STERIS by 6.4% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,016 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the second quarter worth about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of STE opened at $247.95 on Wednesday. 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 plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $253.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $238.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.55.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six investment 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, the company has a consensus 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 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. This represents a 83.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% 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 valued at $4,546,940 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

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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