GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 55,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $12,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at $379,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in STERIS by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 7,905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Trading Up 1.8 %

STE stock opened at $246.48 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $233.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.21. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $247.32. The firm has a market cap of $24.31 billion, a PE ratio of 64.52 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.