Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys New Stake in STERIS plc $STE

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,913 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,957,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,710,247,000 after acquiring an additional 46,628 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in STERIS by 9.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,439,349 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,232,828,000 after acquiring an additional 452,146 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in STERIS by 5.4% in the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,354,545 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $760,308,000 after acquiring an additional 170,392 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter worth about $349,950,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in STERIS by 55.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,520,479 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $344,617,000 after buying an additional 540,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. This represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 18,868 shares of company stock valued at $4,585,389 in the last three months. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $241.58 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.42 and its 200-day moving average is $238.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

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.