Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Boosts Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Harbor Investment Advisory LLC dramatically increased its STERIS stake in the first quarter, boosting holdings by 4,621.4% to 5,288 shares valued at about $1.17 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on STERIS, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $278, even as a few firms trimmed ratings or targets.
• STERIS reported quarterly EPS of $2.83, slightly below expectations, while revenue matched estimates at $1.59 billion and rose 6.7% year over year; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share.

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 4,621.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,288 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $1,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of STERIS by 423.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 342.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 416.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% 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 three months, insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STERIS Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of STE opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.16.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.STERIS's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. STERIS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.78%.

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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