STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank raised its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $4,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 171.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after purchasing an additional 529,308 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7,418.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,132,000 after buying an additional 305,651 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,251,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in STERIS by 2,123.2% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 113,672 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $27,574,000 after acquiring an additional 108,559 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in STERIS by 9.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after acquiring an additional 96,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $206.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.18 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $212.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.89.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.