Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Stock Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,756 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in STERIS were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 796.7% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 7,019 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,329 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $6,234,000 after purchasing an additional 12,511 shares during the last quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 175,358 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,047,000 after buying an additional 95,379 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,213,037 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,352,000 after buying an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 255.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 985 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $226.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.40 and a 200 day moving average of $218.85. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $200.98 and a 1 year high of $248.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.10 and a beta of 0.96.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised shares of STERIS to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

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.