STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,430 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 5,258 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in STERIS were worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 503.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,951 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 58.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares in the company, valued at $12,463,945.60. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on STE shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.83.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.41. 551,947 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,458. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $252.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $238.19 and a 200 day moving average of $225.56.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

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.