Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,223 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $7,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STE. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.8% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 3.2% during the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,916 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,150 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE traded down $1.54 on Friday, reaching $215.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 604,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,314. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.29 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $197.82 and a 52-week 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, 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com lowered 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 boosted their target price for the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $262.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

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.