4,061 STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. cut its STERIS stake by 4.1%, selling 4,061 shares, but still held 93,935 shares worth about $19.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the stock.
• STERIS reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $2.94 per share, beating estimates of $2.68, while revenue rose 8.8% year over year to $1.59 billion.
• Analysts give STERIS a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $276.33. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, equal to a 1.1% yield.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,935 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 4,061 shares during the period. STERIS comprises about 2.0% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned about 0.10% of STERIS worth $19,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,118 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,710,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.9% during the third quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,505 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 10,884 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in STERIS by 14.4% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 565 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 50.0% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 216 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $257.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.91. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $221.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.69.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. STERIS had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 32.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on STERIS from $269.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. This trade represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

STERIS Profile

STERIS plc NYSE: STE provides infection prevention and procedural products and services for healthcare, pharmaceutical, research, and other industries. Its offerings include sterilizers, washers and other equipment used to clean and sterilize medical devices and surgical instruments, as well as products for operating rooms and endoscopy procedures.

The company also provides equipment installation, maintenance, repair, and training, along with contract sterilization and laboratory testing services.

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