STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Acquired by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 21.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,650 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $3,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,786,000 after acquiring an additional 17,007 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 9.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in STERIS by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $184,439,000 after purchasing an additional 95,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $214.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $220.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $197.82 and a 1-year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.50.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.