Pitcairn Co. Has $419,000 Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Pitcairn Co. reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,729 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 71,335 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $17,302,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter worth $214,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 4.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,944 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 551,453 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $133,749,000 after purchasing an additional 6,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $216.06 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.47 and a 52-week high of $248.24. The stock has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.33 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.22 and a 200-day moving average of $228.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.