Hilton Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 6,590 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,590 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in STERIS by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 12.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.25. 754,934 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,409. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.47 and a one year high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.40 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average is $229.10 and its 200-day moving average is $228.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.00.

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.