STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lessened its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,919 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the period. STERIS makes up 2.2% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $26,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after acquiring an additional 120,616 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after acquiring an additional 282,387 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after acquiring an additional 96,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE opened at $219.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.64. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its 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 $2.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 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.