HB Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in STERIS plc $STE

HB Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,225 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 416.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 4,733.3% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth about $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 503.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 3,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 7,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,799,762.04. The trade was a 30.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total transaction of $844,252.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. This trade represents a 83.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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 Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $242.54 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.29. The company has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 1.01. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $253.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.22.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

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.