Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 4,677 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,677 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,359,748 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $483,775,000 after purchasing an additional 56,123 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in STERIS by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,261,927 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $257,585,000 after buying an additional 172,795 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in STERIS by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,216,821 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $250,130,000 after buying an additional 378,252 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,836,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,141,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $234,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.75.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $221.18 on Monday. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $197.82 and a twelve month high of $248.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.61 and its 200 day moving average is $219.50.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released 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 return on equity of 13.91% and a net margin of 8.66%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.