Connable Office Inc. Lowers Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Connable Office Inc. cut its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,399 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,832 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in STERIS by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 102,488 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $23,229,000 after acquiring an additional 24,809 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 503.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in STERIS by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.56, for a total value of $4,275,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 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. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STE shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised STERIS from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $260.00 to $276.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a “hold” rating and a $263.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.33.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $226.69 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $235.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.24. The company has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $200.98 and a 52 week high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 11.26%. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

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.