Eventide Asset Management LLC Buys 15,416 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management increased its stake in STERIS by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 15,416 shares and bringing its holdings to 190,483 shares valued at about $48.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted or initiated positions, and overall 94.69% of STERIS shares are owned by institutions.
• Wall Street remains generally positive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $278, even as recent insider sales and STERIS’s latest quarter showed EPS of $2.83, slightly below estimates.

Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,483 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,416 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned 0.19% of STERIS worth $48,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 614.5% in the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,297 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 430,639 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $109,176,000 after acquiring an additional 134,990 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 4,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 644 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the fourth quarter worth about $29,795,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,956,107.44. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,909 shares of company stock valued at $1,257,083 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $207.50 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $216.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

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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