Swedbank AB Takes $28.25 Million Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Swedbank AB purchased a new position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 116,478 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,251,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in STERIS by 13.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after purchasing an additional 778,613 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7,418.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $75,132,000 after buying an additional 305,651 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in 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 buying an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 1,946.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after buying an additional 257,101 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 9.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,230,000 after buying an additional 96,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. KeyCorp lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed 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 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $216.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $227.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.35 and a beta of 0.85. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. 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 (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 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.