Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 629,532 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in STERIS were worth $737,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 178.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter valued at $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after acquiring an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE opened at $233.52 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The company has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.17 and a 200-day moving average of $222.86.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 30.81%.

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the sale, the director owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,730,632.90. This trade represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. This trade represents a 4.49% 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 have sold a total of 11,386 shares of company stock worth $2,510,846 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.33.

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.