Fortune Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,552 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the quarter. STERIS accounts for about 1.4% of Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,303,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $556,786,000 after purchasing an additional 17,007 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in STERIS by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,114,224 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $270,230,000 after buying an additional 96,336 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 171.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,370,000 after acquiring an additional 529,308 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 801,144 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,309,000 after acquiring an additional 12,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 551,453 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $133,749,000 after acquiring an additional 6,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total value of $365,532.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE STE opened at $221.66 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $197.82 and a 12 month high of $248.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.61 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $211.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.77. 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 (NYSE:STE) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.