STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Stock Holdings Lowered by Ninety One North America Inc.

Ninety One North America Inc. cut its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,379 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 65.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 192 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS by 54.8% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 291 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

STERIS Stock Performance

STE opened at $219.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a PE ratio of 50.12 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.61. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.33 billion during 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%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.75.

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.