Waverly Advisors LLC Takes Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,022 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in STERIS by 165.3% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,599,730 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $534,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619,796 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,836,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth $223,987,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in STERIS by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $250,130,000 after buying an additional 378,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in STERIS by 4,534.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 219,032 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,024,000 after acquiring an additional 214,306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on STERIS from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $243.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 51.64 and a beta of 0.96. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.09.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 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.