Synovus Financial Corp Sells 514 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,354 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 514 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in STERIS were worth $4,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased 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 acquiring an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $556,786,000 after purchasing an additional 17,007 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in STERIS by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in STERIS by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in STERIS by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $184,439,000 after buying an additional 95,412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $214.22 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $220.80 and its 200 day moving average is $227.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $197.82 and a twelve month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. 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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

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.