STERIS (NYSE:STE) Stock: Insider Karen Burton Sells 5,880 Shares

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) CFO Karen Burton sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.62, for a total transaction of $1,503,045.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,311,812.72. This represents a 31.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE opened at $263.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.14 and a 52-week high of $269.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.61. The company has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.86.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. STERIS had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 21.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $737,605,000 after purchasing an additional 629,532 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 25.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of STERIS by 4.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,113,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $246,295,000 after purchasing an additional 46,391 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 8.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,048,636 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,883,000 after purchasing an additional 85,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 890,562 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $196,931,000 after purchasing an additional 9,226 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on STE. Weiss Ratings raised STERIS from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised STERIS from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $232.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc (NYSE: STE) provides infection prevention and procedural products and services for healthcare, pharmaceutical, research, and other industries. Its offerings include sterilizers, washers and other equipment used to clean and sterilize medical devices and surgical instruments, as well as products for operating rooms and endoscopy procedures. The company also provides equipment installation, maintenance, repair, and training, along with contract sterilization and laboratory testing services.