Seven Eight Capital LP Makes New Investment in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,652 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STE. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in STERIS by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 162,769 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $35,785,000 after acquiring an additional 18,947 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 1,473.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 87,982 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,343,000 after purchasing an additional 82,391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s 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 owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

STERIS Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of STE stock opened at $236.98 on Friday. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $248.24. The stock has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.04 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. 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.