Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Trims Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,565 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 740 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC bought a new stake in STERIS in the first quarter worth $268,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in STERIS by 12.3% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 121,143 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,457,000 after purchasing an additional 13,316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $242.54 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $253.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $243.08 and its 200 day moving average is $235.22. The company has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. KeyCorp raised their price target on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 22,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,410,467.56. The trade was a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,448,929.62. This trade represents a 56.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock worth $4,546,940. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.