Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Lowers Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC reduced its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,338 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the period. STERIS comprises 1.5% of Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,230 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,781,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 13,022 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,128,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $441,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,948 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $235.67 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. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.80. The company has a market cap of $23.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09 and a beta of 1.01.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total transaction of $994,455.60. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.82, for a total value of $38,449.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,356,034.72. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389. Company insiders own 1.07% 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.