Geode Capital Management LLC Has $556.79 Million Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,007 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $556,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 7,418.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,132,000 after purchasing an additional 305,651 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in STERIS by 29.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1,946.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 257,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at about $28,251,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp increased 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.50.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $216.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40 and a beta of 0.83. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $221.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.35. STERIS plc has a one year low of $197.82 and a one year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS 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.