STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,611 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth $6,434,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 12,417 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in STERIS by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,193 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,777 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,698 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $75,995,000 after purchasing an additional 35,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in STERIS by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,355 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on STE shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued 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 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.75.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $220.34 on Friday. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $197.82 and a fifty-two week high of $248.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.