Bank of America Corp DE Sells 399,568 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its STERIS stake by 30.2%, selling 399,568 shares and retaining 922,164 shares valued at approximately $203.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.69% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $277.25. STERIS reported quarterly revenue of $1.59 billion, up 6.7% year over year, but EPS of $2.83 narrowly missed estimates.
• STERIS increased its quarterly dividend from $0.63 to $0.69 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.76 and a yield of about 1.2%.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 922,164 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 399,568 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.94% of STERIS worth $203,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,114,882,000 after purchasing an additional 73,014 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 6.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 260,001 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $637,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in 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 valued at $570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 120,200 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in STERIS by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STE shares. Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group started coverage on STERIS in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total transaction of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:STE opened at $233.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $213.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.91. The company has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.91. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued 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). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

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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