STERIS (NYSE:STE) Director Sells $310,284.31 in Stock

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Director Richard Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

STERIS Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE STE traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $212.09. The company had a trading volume of 983,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,322. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $217.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 0.93. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.14 and a 12-month high of $269.44.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in STERIS by 259.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,602 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 37,228 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in STERIS by 9.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 89,250 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in STERIS by 5.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 34,981 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,163,000. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in STERIS during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STE. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

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.