BlackRock Inc. Invests $428.63 Million in Sotera Health Company $SHC

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 24.15 million Sotera Health shares worth approximately $428.6 million, giving it an 8.47% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.03% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $21.50. Recent targets range from $18 to $25.
• Sotera Health exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.26 in EPS and $321.38 million in revenue, up 9.2% year over year. However, insiders sold 1.29 million shares worth roughly $24 million over the past 90 days.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sotera Health Company (NASDAQ:SHC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,148,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $428,635,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 8.47% of Sotera Health at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHC. Sculptor Capital LP increased its stake in Sotera Health by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 21,717,728 shares of the company's stock worth $311,432,000 after purchasing an additional 717,728 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,228,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,189,000 after buying an additional 2,756,583 shares in the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Sotera Health by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 11,645,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,418,000 after buying an additional 3,735,000 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 35.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,162,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,413,000 after buying an additional 2,390,132 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sotera Health by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,965,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,228,000 after buying an additional 1,035,457 shares during the period. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Sotera Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Sotera Health from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $19.00 price objective on Sotera Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Sotera Health in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Sotera Health from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.50.

Sotera Health Stock Up 1.8%

Sotera Health stock opened at $19.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Sotera Health Company has a 1-year low of $13.09 and a 1-year high of $19.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.36. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 1.77.

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Sotera Health had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 40.12%. The firm had revenue of $321.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sotera Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.010 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sotera Health Company will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sotera Health

In related news, Chairman Michael B. Jr. Petras sold 850,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $15,725,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 3,969,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,433,770.50. This represents a 17.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael P. Rutz sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.84, for a total value of $2,826,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 334,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,297,816.36. This represents a 30.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,294,515 shares of company stock worth $23,999,528. 15.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sotera Health Company Profile

Sotera Health Inc NASDAQ: SHC is a global provider of sterilization and laboratory testing services that support the medical device, pharmaceutical, life sciences and consumer product industries. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a suite of services designed to ensure products meet rigorous safety and regulatory requirements before reaching market.

Sotera Health operates through three primary service platforms. Its Sterigenics division delivers contract sterilization solutions, including ethylene oxide (EtO), gamma irradiation, electron beam and X-ray technologies.

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