STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Stock Position Reduced by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,573 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 2,521 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $2,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at $218,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,446,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 2,123.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 113,672 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $27,574,000 after acquiring an additional 108,559 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP lifted its holdings in STERIS by 37.8% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 3,716 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the third quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 30,516 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.27. The company had a trading volume of 526,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,648. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on STE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $262.50.

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.