STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,609 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,609 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,196 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 159,386 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $38,657,000 after acquiring an additional 7,574 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,685 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on STE. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.75.

STERIS Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE STE opened at $225.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 47.90 and a beta of 0.84. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $215.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.41%.

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.