Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $22.13 Million Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 11.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 91,241 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,082 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $22,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 2.8% in the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.8% during the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its position in STERIS by 3.2% during the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,916 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on STE shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised shares of 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. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Insider Activity

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

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock traded up $1.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $217.47. 406,716 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 498,022. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.51. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

STERIS 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.