Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 158 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Nomura Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,095 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,710,247,000 after purchasing an additional 46,628 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,232,828,000 after purchasing an additional 452,146 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in STERIS by 165.3% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $534,400,000 after buying an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter worth $349,950,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in STERIS by 2.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,295,275 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $293,574,000 after buying an additional 33,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This trade represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $798,564.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. This trade represents a 30.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 in the last ninety days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $243.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26 and a beta of 0.95. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.92%.

About STERIS

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.