Impax Asset Management Group plc Grows Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 419.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 964,935 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 779,038 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 0.98% of STERIS worth $211,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 0.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,327 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,706,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in STERIS by 25.6% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,919 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in STERIS by 8.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 13,523 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in STERIS by 24.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,345 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,525,769 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,786,586,000 after acquiring an additional 143,253 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp started coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $253.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised STERIS from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE traded up $2.07 on Tuesday, hitting $214.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 591,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,300. The company has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $180.54 and a fifty-two week high of $254.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.46.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. STERIS's revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 36.43%.

STERIS Company 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.