Dash Acquisitions Inc. Grows Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. STERIS accounts for 1.4% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $5,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STE. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 2.8% in the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 121 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 7.6% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on STE. Piper Sandler raised STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE STE opened at $225.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.47 and a 52 week high of $248.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.84.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.02 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher S. Holland sold 473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.68, for a total value of $113,368.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,493.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.