STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,874 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of STERIS worth $13,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in STERIS by 13.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after purchasing an additional 778,613 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 7,418.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,132,000 after purchasing an additional 305,651 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 1,946.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $59,344,000 after buying an additional 257,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,251,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.3 %

STE opened at $217.37 on Thursday. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.50 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The stock has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.63 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on STE shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by 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.