Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,281 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 112.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of STERIS by 2,262.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 189 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the 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 owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the 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 owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of STERIS stock traded up $7.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $229.10. The stock had a trading volume of 323,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,429. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.47 and a 1 year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on STE. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

About STERIS

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.