EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 71 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 940 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STE. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $289,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,992 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $18,130,000 after buying an additional 11,116 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter worth about $349,950,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Stock Up 0.1%

STE opened at $248.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.63. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $252.79. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08 and a beta of 0.95. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The company 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 was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend 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 38.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp lifted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. JMP Securities upped their price objective on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research 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, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of STERIS 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the business’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 $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

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.