5,000 Shares in STERIS plc $STE Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in STERIS during the first quarter, purchasing 5,000 shares worth about $1.106 million.
• Institutional ownership of STERIS remains very high at 94.69%, with several large funds including Vanguard, State Street, and AQR also increasing their stakes.
• STERIS reported Q4 earnings of $2.83 per share, slightly below estimates, while revenue matched expectations at $1.59 billion; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $278.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,114,882,000 after purchasing an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in STERIS by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,169,957,000 after purchasing an additional 260,001 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $637,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 120,200 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,623,234 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $411,522,000 after buying an additional 440,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of STE opened at $217.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $211.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.83.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051. Insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

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.

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