LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Sells 2,903 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC decreased its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,024 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,903 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $8,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,114,882,000 after purchasing an additional 73,014 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,077,564,000 after purchasing an additional 166,736 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 221,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 59,443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This trade represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $212.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.63. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $209.61 and a 1-year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Company 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.