STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Lbp Am Sa

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa has reduced its holdings in STERIS plc by 55.4%, owning 10,691 shares after selling 13,262 shares, valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.57, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.
• STERIS reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with $2.34 EPS beating estimates, and a revenue increase of 8.8% year-over-year, totaling $1.40 billion.

Lbp Am Sa decreased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 55.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,691 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 13,262 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in STERIS were worth $2,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in STERIS by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,999 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. This trade represents a 30.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,929.62. This trade represents 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $242.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11 and a beta of 1.01. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two 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 quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.50.

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.

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