apricus wealth LLC Invests $205,000 in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

apricus wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 998 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in STERIS in the third quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter worth $67,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 54.8% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 291 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 45.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 583 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,363.04. The trade was a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STE shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.50.

STERIS Price Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $216.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a PE ratio of 49.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.63. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $197.82 and a 52 week high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.05%.

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.