KBC Group NV Grows Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 52.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,071 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,414,453,000 after purchasing an additional 778,613 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 7,418.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $75,132,000 after acquiring an additional 305,651 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 29.7% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 1,946.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $59,344,000 after purchasing an additional 257,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in STERIS by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $390,880,000 after purchasing an additional 120,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,710. This trade represents a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on STE. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock opened at $220.12 on Monday. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $195.47 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.26 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $230.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.42.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

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.