Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,439 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,276 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $556,786,000 after purchasing an additional 17,007 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,119,643 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $230,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,419 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $191,370,000 after purchasing an additional 529,308 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 551,453 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $133,749,000 after purchasing an additional 6,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 7,418.7% in 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 buying an additional 305,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.75.

STERIS Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE STE traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $219.34. 134,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,831. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.64. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $197.82 and a 1-year high of $248.24. The firm has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.