Swedbank AB Buys Shares of 116,478 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 116,478 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,251,000. Swedbank AB owned about 0.12% of STERIS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 8.7% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the third 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 last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in STERIS in the second quarter worth about $2,644,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in STERIS by 52.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 11.0% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,302 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,727,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 42,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,603,710. This trade represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. KeyCorp boosted their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $216.06. 472,412 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,418. The company has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.35 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.69. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend 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 presently 52.05%.

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.