Oak Thistle LLC Purchases 7,175 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 593.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,385 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,175 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in STERIS in the third quarter worth $28,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in STERIS by 154.7% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 76.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 282 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $207.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.02. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $197.82 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. STERIS’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities restated 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 upgraded STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.50.

STERIS 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.