Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 50.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,963 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 157,808 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.15% of STERIS worth $31,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STE. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the second quarter valued at about $227,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in STERIS by 154.7% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 191 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in STERIS by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $184,439,000 after purchasing an additional 95,412 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 11.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,916 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 693,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,270. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.83 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $212.23 and a 200 day moving average of $224.79. STERIS plc has a one year low of $197.82 and a one year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.