KBC Group NV Raises Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,798 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 8.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after buying an additional 529,308 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 24.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in STERIS in the third quarter worth approximately $9,949,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in STERIS by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,283 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of STE opened at $220.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.75. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $197.82 and a 1 year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

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.