The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 2,707 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,025 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,707 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of STERIS worth $14,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 8.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,644,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,302 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,727,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on STE. KeyCorp raised their target price on 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 restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of STE stock opened at $219.06 on Monday. 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 one year low of $195.47 and a one year high of $248.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.23. The company has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01 and a beta of 0.85.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

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.