Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,251 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 586 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of STERIS by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,525,769 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,786,586,000 after acquiring an additional 143,253 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of STERIS by 0.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,229,089 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,022,467,000 after acquiring an additional 17,292 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of STERIS by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,756,454 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $693,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556,136 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of STERIS by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,364,283 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $436,660,000 after acquiring an additional 107,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of STERIS by 4.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,295,162 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $247,739,000 after acquiring an additional 55,566 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.60.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $200.71 on Friday. STERIS plc has a one year low of $180.54 and a one year high of $254.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 0.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. STERIS had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 36.43%.

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.