AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 8,317 STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• AXQ Capital initiated a new STERIS position, buying 8,317 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.69% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with STERIS receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $271.33, above its reported price of $224.60.
• STERIS exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.59 in EPS and $1.49 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.63 to $0.69 per share.

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,317 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,751,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 holdings in STERIS by 178.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $291,704,000 after purchasing an additional 758,423 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter worth approximately $158,982,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in STERIS by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $737,605,000 after acquiring an additional 629,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE:STE opened at $224.60 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.29. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at $5,730,632.90. This trade represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. The trade was 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. Company 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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