WealthShield Partners LLC Has $1.66 Million Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

WealthShield Partners LLC grew its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,571 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 9.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,041 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,747 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,333,000 after buying an additional 24,377 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,914,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,301 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in STERIS by 7.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 16,219 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on STE. KeyCorp began coverage on STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.60.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE remained flat at $216.65 on Thursday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 164,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,045. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $180.54 and a fifty-two week high of $254.00.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.43%.

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.