Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,089 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. STERIS makes up about 3.0% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned 0.07% of STERIS worth $16,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 112.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,729 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in STERIS by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,841 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,235,000 after acquiring an additional 4,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in STERIS by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 106,346 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,909,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $222.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 47,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,058. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.85 and a beta of 0.85. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.47 and a 1-year high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $231.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.11.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on STE shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

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.