Cary L. Majors Sells 1,682 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Stock

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

STERIS Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of STE stock opened at $217.47 on Friday. 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 plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $225.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.43. The stock has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.65 and a beta of 0.85.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of STERIS

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $556,786,000 after acquiring an additional 17,007 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of STERIS by 29.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in STERIS by 12.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $184,439,000 after purchasing an additional 95,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

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.