Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. decreased its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,861 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 609 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $3,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. CWM LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 12.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 66.5% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 17,243 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after purchasing an additional 5,490 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 94,148 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $20,688,000 after purchasing an additional 22,819 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on STE. KeyCorp initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet raised shares of STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $1.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $201.49. 411,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,475. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $180.54 and a 52 week high of $254.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $221.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.43%.

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.