Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,294 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in STERIS were worth $22,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in STERIS by 2,262.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 189 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in STERIS by 154.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on STE shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective 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 increased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $219.28 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.34. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $248.24. The company has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 50.06 and a beta of 0.85. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company 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 business posted $2.03 EPS. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

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.