Skye Global Management LP Reduces Position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Skye Global Management LP decreased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 23,200 shares during the period. STERIS accounts for about 0.1% of Skye Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Skye Global Management LP’s holdings in STERIS were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in STERIS by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,442,805 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,414,453,000 after acquiring an additional 778,613 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 7,418.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 309,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $75,132,000 after purchasing an additional 305,651 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in STERIS by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,150,517 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,663,000 after purchasing an additional 263,383 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in STERIS by 1,946.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 270,311 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after buying an additional 257,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $28,251,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of STE stock opened at $217.47 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.43. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.47 and a 12-month high of $248.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.65 and a beta of 0.85.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. STERIS’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cary L. Majors sold 1,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.32, for a total transaction of $365,532.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,363.04. This trade represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total value of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,710. This trade represents a 35.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on STE. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of STERIS from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

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.