First Trust Advisors LP Buys 37,805 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors more than doubled its STERIS stake in the first quarter, acquiring 37,805 additional shares for a total holding of 74,244 shares valued at approximately $16.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.69% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with four Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $277.25.
• STERIS reported quarterly revenue of $1.59 billion, up 6.7% year over year, but earnings per share of $2.83 narrowly missed estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 103.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,244 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,805 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of STERIS worth $16,418,000 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. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 46.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $55,015,000 after buying an additional 59,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in STERIS by 40.0% in the 1st 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 increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 38.9% in the 1st 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 period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report 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 lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,493,164. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% 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 have sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $235.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $212.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 11.18 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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