Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 10,191 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 131.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,961 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,191 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $3,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 171.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 838,569 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $191,370,000 after buying an additional 529,308 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,970 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth $9,949,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in STERIS by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,283 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.75.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $213.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $197.82 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $223.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.44. The company has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.26 and a beta of 0.87.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.01). STERIS had a return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.