Oak Ridge Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC cut its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 89.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,713 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 23,186 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. West Coast Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 2.8% during the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in STERIS by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 192 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 1.6% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STE. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $262.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $209.50. 693,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,470. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.83 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 52.05%.

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.