LPL Financial LLC Sells 69,976 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

LPL Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 66.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,704 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 69,976 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $7,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at $6,434,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 12,417 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,193 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,777 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,698 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $75,995,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,355 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on STE. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.75.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $213.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.40. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $197.82 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.44. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 45.26 and a beta of 0.87.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. Equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

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.