Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Sells 23,001 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 73.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,222 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 23,001 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $1,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STE. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 655.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,016 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 8,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $244.87. The stock had a trading volume of 116,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,944. The business's fifty day moving average is $227.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.44. 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 company has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.99 and a beta of 0.96. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $200.98 and a twelve month high of $252.79.

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 analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

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.