14,618 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,618 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,070,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 1,130.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 50.0% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 216 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE traded up $10.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.76. 984,350 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 854,915. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 32.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, CFO Karen L. Burton sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.62, for a total transaction of $1,503,045.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,311,812.72. This represents a 31.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,893 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.22, for a total transaction of $1,239,005.46. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at $6,154,512.10. This trade represents a 16.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on STE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $232.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of STERIS from $269.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of STERIS from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STERIS from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc (NYSE: STE) provides infection prevention and procedural products and services for healthcare, pharmaceutical, research, and other industries. Its offerings include sterilizers, washers and other equipment used to clean and sterilize medical devices and surgical instruments, as well as products for operating rooms and endoscopy procedures. The company also provides equipment installation, maintenance, repair, and training, along with contract sterilization and laboratory testing services.