Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,005,023 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,005,023 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,954,000. Norges Bank owned 1.02% of STERIS as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STE. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,647 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in STERIS by 20.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 178,767 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $39,225,000 after purchasing an additional 30,575 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in STERIS by 9.7% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,542 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 4.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 25.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 11th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of STERIS in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.60.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 2,024 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total transaction of $469,831.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,639,085.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 2,024 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total transaction of $469,831.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,639,085.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline B. Kosecoff sold 4,584 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.53, for a total transaction of $1,061,333.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,798,477 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $230.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $22.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.37 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.32. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.47 and a fifty-two week high of $254.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 13.73%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.45%.

STERIS Company 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.