Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. Buys 2,393 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 37.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,856 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc.'s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,841 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $13,235,000 after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 2nd quarter worth $2,644,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on STE. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $220.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 540,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,687. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.26 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $230.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month 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, 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 analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.