Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New $19.91 Million Investment in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners acquired 94,546 STERIS shares worth approximately $19.91 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.69% of the company.
• STERIS exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.59 and revenue of $1.49 billion, up 7.3% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, implying a 1.2% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, giving STERIS a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $271.33 versus the stock’s $232.91 opening price.

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 94,546 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,908,000. Dearborn Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of STERIS at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Norges Bank bought a new position in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at about $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $291,704,000 after purchasing an additional 758,423 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter worth approximately $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 36.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 25.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $291,288.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,647 shares in the company, valued at $13,493,164. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total transaction of $956,795.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,386 shares of company stock worth $2,510,846. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Stock Down 1.6%

STE stock opened at $232.91 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $222.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.78. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 30.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About STERIS

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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