Vident Advisory LLC Raises Stake in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in STERIS plc by 45.5% by purchasing an additional 1,048 shares, bringing its total holdings to 3,350 shares valued at approximately $759,000.
• Research analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for STERIS shares, with an average target price of $273.50, reflecting a positive outlook for the stock.
• STERIS has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.57 to $0.63 per share, signifying a dividend yield of 1.0% and a healthy payout ratio of 34.92%.

Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 45.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,350 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STE. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $534,400,000 after buying an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in STERIS by 9.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,232,828,000 after buying an additional 452,146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in STERIS by 35,759.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410,237 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $92,980,000 after buying an additional 409,093 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in STERIS in the 1st quarter worth about $65,435,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4,534.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 219,032 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $45,024,000 after acquiring an additional 214,306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on STE shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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 cut shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,221 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,762.04. This represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:STE traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $245.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 331,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.32. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

STERIS 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.