Forsta AP Fonden Has $7.96 Million Stock Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,800 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in STERIS were worth $7,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in STERIS by 25.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,387 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,005,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 24.4% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 69,567 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,602,000 after purchasing an additional 13,651 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7,418.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $75,132,000 after purchasing an additional 305,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.7% during the third quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,281 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on STE shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.00.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE STE traded down $0.11 on Monday, reaching $224.01. 491,131 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,217. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $234.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.91 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 56.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total transaction of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,493.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

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.