Peterson Wealth Services Acquires Shares of 1,282 STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,282 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STE. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 70.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,756,454 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $693,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556,136 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $153,900,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 419.1% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 964,935 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $211,430,000 after acquiring an additional 779,038 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 89.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 953,983 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,645,000 after acquiring an additional 451,235 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 58.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 586,380 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $128,663,000 after acquiring an additional 216,113 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock traded up $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $200.61. The company had a trading volume of 81,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,934. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. STERIS plc has a one year low of $180.54 and a one year high of $254.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.59 and its 200 day moving average is $217.71.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.60.

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.