Raymond James & Associates Buys 50,308 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 778,684 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,308 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.79% of STERIS worth $175,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,608,434,000 after buying an additional 53,526 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in STERIS by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,811,818 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,277,728,000 after acquiring an additional 77,152 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in STERIS by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,218,012 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $267,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,101 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth about $220,954,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in STERIS by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 976,402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $208,491,000 after purchasing an additional 44,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STE shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet upgraded shares of STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.60.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE traded up $2.36 on Friday, reaching $203.90. 318,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 558,812. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. STERIS plc has a one year low of $181.78 and a one year high of $254.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.67.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.43%.

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.