Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its stake in STERIS by 25.3%, selling 254,841 shares and leaving it with 753,979 shares (about 0.77% of the company) valued at roughly $191.18 million.
• Several brokerages have trimmed ratings—Wall Street Zen downgraded STE from strong-buy to buy and Weiss Ratings from buy to hold—yet the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $275.20.
• STERIS posted Q results with $2.53 EPS (in line) and revenue up 9.2% YoY, issued FY2026 guidance of EPS $10.15–10.30 (analysts see ~10.22), and pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (1.1% yield).

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 753,979 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 254,841 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.77% of STERIS worth $191,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in STERIS in the third quarter worth $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in STERIS by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in STERIS in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 416.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STERIS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.20.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $222.35 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $209.98 and a 12-month high of $269.44. The firm has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 1.07.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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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