Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Cuts Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. reduced its STERIS stake by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,106 shares and leaving it with 37,295 shares worth about $9.46 million.
• STERIS reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $2.83 per share missing estimates by a penny while revenue came in line at $1.59 billion and rose 6.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $278, despite recent insider sales and a 2.4% drop in the shares.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lessened its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,295 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 9,106 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in STERIS were worth $9,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of STE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in STERIS by 46.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 32.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $55,015,000 after buying an additional 59,264 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 40.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 38.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $4,695,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of STE stock opened at $207.71 on Thursday. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.99.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on STE. KeyCorp cut 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Three 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS 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 transaction of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $291,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,493,164. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,909 shares of company stock valued at $1,257,083. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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