Qtron Investments LLC Makes New Investment in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Qtron Investments LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,900 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in STERIS by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,359,748 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $483,775,000 after purchasing an additional 56,123 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,261,927 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,585,000 after buying an additional 172,795 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $250,130,000 after buying an additional 378,252 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,836,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,141,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $234,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.75.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $221.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.61 and a 200 day moving average of $219.50. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $197.82 and a 12 month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.