KBC Group NV Purchases 4,132 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 24.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in STERIS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 120,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,302 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,727,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $220.12 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.26 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $230.37 and its 200 day moving average is $228.42. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.