STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 93.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,566 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,334 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in STERIS by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,864,606 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,608,434,000 after purchasing an additional 53,526 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in STERIS by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,811,818 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,277,728,000 after purchasing an additional 77,152 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in STERIS by 7.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in STERIS by 23.5% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,485,578 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $333,988,000 after purchasing an additional 282,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in STERIS by 3.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,009,157 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $226,879,000 after purchasing an additional 32,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.60.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $237.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 62.23 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $243.37.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 54.45%.

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.