Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 7,443 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Los Angeles Capital Management cut its STERIS position by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,443 shares and leaving it with 9,917 shares valued at about $2.34 million.
• Insider selling continued, with Director Richard C. Breeden and CEO Daniel A. Carestio both selling shares in early June; insiders sold 5,909 shares last quarter overall.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on STERIS, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278, even after some firms trimmed targets or ratings.

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,917 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 7,443 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $2,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in STERIS by 178.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in STERIS in the third quarter valued at about $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $387,797,000 after purchasing an additional 221,199 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS 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 sale, the director directly owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of STERIS 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 sale, 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 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 quarter, insiders have sold 5,909 shares of company stock worth $1,257,083. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $212.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $216.83 and its 200 day moving average is $238.33. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

STERIS 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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