Ethic Inc. Purchases 79 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 3.5% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,999 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 2.0% during the first quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,305 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,319 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. This represents a 56.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,410,467.56. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $236.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $244.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.85. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $253.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22 and a beta of 1.01. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 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.