Strong Tower Advisory Services Acquires 1,166 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in STERIS were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 8.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 171.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in STERIS in the third quarter worth about $9,949,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on STE. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $209.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.83 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $197.82 and a 1-year high of $248.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $212.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.82.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

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.