Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 164 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,011 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 2.8% in the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in STERIS by 77.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.6% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $224.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $235.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.68 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.58%.

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.