Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 260 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,965 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 2nd quarter valued at $227,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,555 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in STERIS by 154.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $184,439,000 after buying an additional 95,412 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $206.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.18 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.34 and a 200-day moving average of $224.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $197.82 and a 1 year high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.50.

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.