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 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $219.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.34. 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 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.06 and a beta of 0.85.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in STERIS during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,644,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,302 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,727,000 after purchasing an additional 5,999 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.