HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE – Get Rating) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,933 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,624 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $3,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in STERIS by 2,254.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 831,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $138,216,000 after buying an additional 795,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in STERIS by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,087,287 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $845,914,000 after buying an additional 488,829 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in STERIS by 89.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 953,983 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,645,000 after buying an additional 451,235 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in STERIS by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 764,794 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $141,930,000 after buying an additional 374,877 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.35% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE STE opened at $205.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.42 billion, a PE ratio of 192.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.85. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $159.21 and a fifty-two week high of $236.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

STERIS (NYSE:STE – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.50% and a net margin of 2.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 8.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 13th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on STE. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on STERIS from $210.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on STERIS from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 2,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.28, for a total transaction of $439,207.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,746,793.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Profile

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STERIS Plc engages in the provision of healthcare and life science product and service solutions. It operates through the following segments: Healthcare, Life Sciences, Applied Sterilization Technologies, and Dental. The Healthcare segment provides a comprehensive offering for healthcare providers worldwide, focused on sterile processing departments and procedural centers, such as operating rooms and endoscopy suites.