McCollum Christoferson Group LLC Sells 220 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

McCollum Christoferson Group LLC lowered its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,395 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. STERIS comprises approximately 2.3% of McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $7,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in STERIS by 13.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in STERIS by 7.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $390,880,000 after buying an additional 120,616 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in STERIS by 23.5% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $333,988,000 after buying an additional 282,387 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after buying an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 0.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,017,888 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $223,467,000 after buying an additional 8,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This represents 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $225.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.08 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.47 and a 1-year high of $248.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.91. 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 (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 56.58%.

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.