STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,419 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,162 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of STERIS worth $19,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 18,947 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake 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 worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,034 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp raised their price objective 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 note on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated 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 note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $236.98 on Friday. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.04 and a beta of 0.83.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 59.69%.

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.