Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 2,622 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,169 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,622 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of STERIS by 259.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,602 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,165,000 after buying an additional 37,228 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in STERIS by 9.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,039,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,157,000 after buying an additional 89,250 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in STERIS by 5.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 693,116 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $171,505,000 after buying an additional 34,981 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in STERIS by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 633,530 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $160,613,000 after acquiring an additional 183,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,480,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:STE opened at $202.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.18. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total transaction of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at $13,956,107.44. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051. 1.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

About STERIS

STERIS Corporation (NYSE: STE) is a global provider of infection prevention, contamination control and procedural products and services for the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company develops, manufactures and supports a broad portfolio of equipment and consumables designed to reduce risk of infection, maintain sterile environments and support critical clinical and manufacturing procedures.

Its offerings include sterilization and decontamination systems, instrument washers and washers-disinfectors, endoscope reprocessing solutions, surgical equipment and procedural disposables, and contamination-control products for cleanrooms and laboratories.