1,679 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Acquired by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,679 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of STE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,951 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 503.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $978,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in STERIS by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,258 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Stock Down 2.0%

STE stock opened at $236.49 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $253.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.40 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 38.59%.

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.