Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $9.06 Million Holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,201 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the quarter. STERIS accounts for about 0.6% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $9,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,041 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. raised its position in STERIS by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,747 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,333,000 after purchasing an additional 24,377 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $1,351,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 5,199.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 65,925 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $14,494,000 after purchasing an additional 64,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 45,095 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $9,914,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of STERIS stock traded down $1.86 on Friday, hitting $198.95. 187,455 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 459,028. STERIS plc has a one year low of $180.54 and a one year high of $254.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $224.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.59.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 36.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, April 12th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of STERIS in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised STERIS from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.