Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $3.33 Million Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,724 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 9.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $270,230,000 after acquiring an additional 96,336 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in STERIS by 12.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $184,439,000 after acquiring an additional 95,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $194,309,000 after purchasing an additional 12,005 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on STE shares. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp increased their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of STE stock opened at $217.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $225.80 and a 200-day moving average of $228.51. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 49.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.02. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 52.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.