STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,936 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 5,324 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in STERIS were worth $1,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,359,748 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $483,775,000 after acquiring an additional 56,123 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,261,927 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $257,585,000 after acquiring an additional 172,795 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $250,130,000 after acquiring an additional 378,252 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in STERIS by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $249,352,000 after purchasing an additional 83,601 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at $238,836,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE traded down $0.59 on Friday, hitting $243.21. 538,496 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 543,647. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $226.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.06. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $200.98 and a fifty-two week high of $252.79. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.64 and a beta of 0.96.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. STERIS's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.00.

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.