ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd Cuts Stake in STERIS plc $STE

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 51.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd’s holdings in STERIS were worth $62,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STE. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 17.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,412 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 23.4% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the first quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 2.4% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,964 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $5,205,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $235.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $243.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.03. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $200.98 and a 1-year high of $253.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 14.17%. STERIS’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 38.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.96, for a total value of $994,455.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,410,467.56. This represents a 15.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.82, for a total transaction of $38,449.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,356,034.72. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,868 shares of company stock worth $4,585,389 over the last ninety days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $277.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.50.

STERIS 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.