Freedom Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 938 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after purchasing an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after buying an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 9.5% during 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 buying an additional 96,336 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of STERIS by 12.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $184,439,000 after acquiring an additional 95,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,309,000 after acquiring an additional 12,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Up 0.7 %

STE opened at $219.06 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $225.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.23. 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 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The stock 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on STE shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

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.