First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 37,805 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 103.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,244 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,805 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in STERIS were worth $16,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth about $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 178.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in STERIS by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,169,957,000 after acquiring an additional 260,001 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $291,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,493,164. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last quarter. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $235.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $212.51 and its 200-day moving average is $226.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.25.

STERIS Company Profile

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.