Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,263,402 STERIS plc $STE

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,263,402 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $320,298,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.29% of STERIS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Pension Service raised its position in STERIS by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 172,499 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $43,732,000 after purchasing an additional 3,697 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,354 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 69,968 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $17,738,000 after acquiring an additional 25,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of STERIS by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 957 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

STERIS Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:STE opened at $210.80 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $218.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.37. The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $195.14 and a 52-week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STE. Weiss Ratings lowered STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.00.

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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