Macquarie Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Macquarie Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE – Get Rating) by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,003 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 17,106 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of STERIS worth $9,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in STERIS during the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 92.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $186.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $196.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.72. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $159.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.93.

STERIS (NYSE:STE – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.17). STERIS had a positive return on equity of 12.86% and a negative net margin of 0.58%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. STERIS’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -648.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of STERIS from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of STERIS from $235.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.83.

About STERIS

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STERIS Plc engages in the provision of healthcare and life science product and service solutions. It operates through the following segments: Healthcare, Life Sciences, Applied Sterilization Technologies, and Dental. The Healthcare segment provides a comprehensive offering for healthcare providers worldwide, focused on sterile processing departments and procedural centers, such as operating rooms and endoscopy suites.