LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Sells 950 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 950 shares during the quarter. STERIS accounts for approximately 1.9% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC owned about 0.06% of STERIS worth $13,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 26,574 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,842,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,608,434,000 after acquiring an additional 53,526 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at $710,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter worth $441,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on STE. StockNews.com upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.00.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of STE stock traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $226.64. 204,921 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 470,297. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.91. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 59.35 and a beta of 0.84.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.69%.

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.