BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,766 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,563 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.11% of STERIS worth $27,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STE. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 5.6% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,322 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of STERIS by 215.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,330 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after buying an additional 8,417 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 53.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in STERIS by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 32,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $7,341,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $219.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 50.06 and a beta of 0.85. 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 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week 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 (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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, 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 value of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.