STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,190 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,729 shares during the quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $22,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 1.6% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,153 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 4,662 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $219.54 on Friday. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.61 and a beta of 0.84.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. Equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.