Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires Shares of 2,411 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,411 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,537 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 286.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 761 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 14.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,074 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $8,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,862 shares during the period. Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.6% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 51,978 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS during the third quarter worth $292,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet upgraded STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.60.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $209.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $217.97 and its 200-day moving average is $216.04. STERIS plc has a one year low of $185.22 and a one year high of $254.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 36.43%.

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.