STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 521 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,327 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,706,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,919 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 8.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 13,523 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in STERIS by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,345 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,525,769 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,786,586,000 after purchasing an additional 143,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet upgraded STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $200.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.79 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $225.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.83. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $180.54 and a 12-month high of $254.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 36.43%.

STERIS Company 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.