STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,473 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 4,733.3% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 145 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 503.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $1,909,667.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,410,467.56. This trade represents a 15.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,709 shares of company stock valued at $4,546,940. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STERIS Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:STE opened at $250.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30 and a beta of 0.95. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $253.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $237.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.09.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on STE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

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.