Farther Finance Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of STERIS by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 302,505 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $68,563,000 after buying an additional 47,995 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,671 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,028 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $263.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total transaction of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total transaction of $4,275,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,463,945.60. This represents a 25.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $241.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.76. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.20 and a beta of 0.94. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $200.98 and a 12 month high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.15. STERIS had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 36.77%.

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.