HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.79 Million Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 17.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,573 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,521 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in STERIS by 154.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in STERIS in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, American National Bank bought a new stake in STERIS in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.50.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $216.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.35. The company has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40 and a beta of 0.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.