Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 59 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in STERIS by 13.7% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 7,418.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,132,000 after buying an additional 305,651 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 1,946.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $59,344,000 after acquiring an additional 257,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter worth approximately $28,251,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock opened at $217.47 on Friday. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.65 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. Analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This trade represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on STE. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.