Entropy Technologies LP Purchases Shares of 4,494 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,494 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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. increased its position in STERIS by 24.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in STERIS by 52.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at $9,949,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on STE. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

STERIS Price Performance

STE opened at $224.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.46.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 48.41%.

About STERIS

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.