Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 2,797 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,335 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,797 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $17,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,414,453,000 after purchasing an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in STERIS by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,230,000 after acquiring an additional 96,336 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $184,439,000 after acquiring an additional 95,412 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of STERIS by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $194,309,000 after acquiring an additional 12,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STE opened at $216.15 on Tuesday. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.47 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $227.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.76. The firm has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 0.85. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 52.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on STE. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target 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. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

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.