Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.04 Million Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,607 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 848 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,280 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on STE. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:STE opened at $241.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.99.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 34.92%.

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.