STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,298 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 4,387 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of STERIS worth $20,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STE. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 8.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 529,308 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in STERIS by 24.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in STERIS by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,970 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,275,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in STERIS by 52.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.75.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $221.52. The company had a trading volume of 258,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,237. The stock has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.03 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $197.82 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $213.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.