B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,314 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 658 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,608,434,000 after buying an additional 53,526 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $390,880,000 after acquiring an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 23.5% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $227.22 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $237.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.79. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48 and a beta of 0.84. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.69%.

STERIS Company 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.