Commerce Bank Sells 110 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,668 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 8.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,410 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. BDF Gestion bought a new position in STERIS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in STERIS by 7.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $214.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.47 and a twelve month high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $227.28 and a 200-day moving average of $228.63.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

About STERIS

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.