STERIS (NYSE:STE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS (NYSE:STE - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on STE. JMP Securities raised their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $263.83.

STERIS Trading Down 0.5%

STERIS stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.16. The stock had a trading volume of 464,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,162. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.20 and a beta of 0.94. STERIS has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. The trade was a 53.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,984 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,816 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,923,000 after acquiring an additional 16,300 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 182.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% 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.