J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes $315,000 Position in STERIS plc $STE

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,310 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 122.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the first quarter valued at about $25,958,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in STERIS by 31.9% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $23,229,000 after acquiring an additional 24,809 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in STERIS in the first quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in STERIS by 23.6% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $242.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 1.01. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.29.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 38.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940 in the last ninety days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on STE. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

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.