Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Makes New $447,000 Investment in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,173 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 8.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 171.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $191,370,000 after acquiring an additional 529,308 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in STERIS by 52.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in STERIS in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,949,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $218.54 on Thursday. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $197.82 and a 52 week high of $248.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.74.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

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.