Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 58 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,446 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in STERIS were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,235,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of STERIS by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 106,346 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,909,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Caden Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 82,312 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $18,096,000 after purchasing an additional 36,576 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at about $903,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in STERIS by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 40,571 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 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 this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

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

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 59.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on STE. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.00.

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.