abrdn plc Has $51.45 Million Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

abrdn plc lessened its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 250,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,631 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in STERIS were worth $51,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 171.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after purchasing an additional 529,308 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 52.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the third quarter worth about $9,949,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $219.53 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $212.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.61. STERIS plc has a one year low of $197.82 and a one year high of $248.24. The stock has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.12 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during 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%. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on STE shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.