Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Buys 48 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,534 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in STERIS by 8.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 171.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after buying an additional 529,308 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 24.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in STERIS by 52.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $9,949,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $220.84 on Monday. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The company has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $212.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.70.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 52.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on STE shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.