Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Makes New Investment in STERIS plc $STE

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 880 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 416.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in STERIS in the first quarter worth about $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 503.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their position. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,448,929.62. The trade was a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on STE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $240.25 on Friday. 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 plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $253.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.79 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $245.08 and a 200-day moving average of $236.33.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase 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 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.