STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,611 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in STERIS were worth $5,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $191,370,000 after buying an additional 529,308 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,949,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.50.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STERIS Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE STE opened at $207.01 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $219.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.97. STERIS plc has a one year low of $197.82 and a one year high of $248.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 47.26 and a beta of 0.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business’s 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. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

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.