Fifth Third Bancorp Decreases Stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,477 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in STERIS were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Coast Financial LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in STERIS by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 192 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.6 %

STE opened at $221.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.90 and a 200 day moving average of $224.77. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 50.61 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $197.82 and a 12 month high of $248.24. 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 (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.11 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STE. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

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.