Swedbank AB Boosts Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,078 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in STERIS were worth $68,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,114,882,000 after acquiring an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in STERIS by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,077,564,000 after acquiring an additional 166,736 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after acquiring an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in STERIS by 16.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $387,797,000 after acquiring an additional 221,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in STERIS by 4.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,280,142 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $316,758,000 after acquiring an additional 59,443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.20.

STERIS Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $214.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $224.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.45. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $209.61 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.15%.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STERIS Profile

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.