STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Stock Position Lifted by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,867 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $7,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after buying an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 29.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,663,000 after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 9.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after purchasing an additional 96,336 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in STERIS by 12.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,194 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $184,439,000 after purchasing an additional 95,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in STERIS by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $194,309,000 after purchasing an additional 12,005 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $216.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40 and a beta of 0.83. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.35.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its 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 company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on STE shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.50.

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.