Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 570 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,448 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 570 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of STE. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 112.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE STE opened at $244.79 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.08 and a beta of 0.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.69%.

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.