California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 2,167 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 180,934 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in STERIS were worth $39,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of STERIS by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,218,012 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $267,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,101 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of STERIS by 419.1% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 964,935 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $211,430,000 after acquiring an additional 779,038 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 3.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 931,621 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $204,416,000 after acquiring an additional 33,547 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in shares of STERIS by 1.5% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 861,628 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $189,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of STERIS by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 728,376 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $160,133,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $203.90 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $181.78 and a 12 month high of $254.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.18 and its 200-day moving average is $216.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s payout ratio is 36.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp began coverage on STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.60.

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.