Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Takes Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,682 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,401,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in STERIS by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 975 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,984 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on STE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on STERIS in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 12,828 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.08, for a total value of $3,208,026.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,843,909.76. This trade represents a 53.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Stock Down 1.2%

STE stock traded down $2.85 on Monday, reaching $242.37. 193,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,617. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.91. The company has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.45 and a beta of 0.96. STERIS plc has a one year low of $200.98 and a one year high of $252.79. 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 (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

About STERIS

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.