Running Oak Capital LLC Buys 7,183 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 66,459 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,183 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $15,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Suncoast Equity Management boosted its holdings in STERIS by 16.7% in the first quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 4,155 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 22.3% in the first quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 3,281 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in STERIS in the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in STERIS by 14.0% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 256,271 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 31,530 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Down 0.3%

STERIS stock opened at $235.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.96. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $252.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.64 and a 200 day moving average of $223.39.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities upped their price target on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set a “hold” rating and a $263.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.83.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,843,909.76. This represents a 53.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 17,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 51,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,463,945.60. The trade was a 25.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS 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.