Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Makes New $223,000 Investment in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 921 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 112.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,681 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in STERIS by 7.5% during the 1st 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. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 4.4% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 11.9% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $214.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.52. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.47 and a 52-week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

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.