STERIS plc $STE Shares Purchased by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in STERIS plc by 8.9%, holding 76,030 shares valued at approximately $17.2 million as of the recent quarter.
• Analysts have set a new price target for STERIS, with Morgan Stanley raising it from $276.00 to $295.00 and a consensus target price of $273.50 indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• STERIS recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.57 to $0.63 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, signaling confidence in its financial performance.

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,030 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of STERIS worth $17,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at about $261,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in STERIS by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,106 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of STERIS by 219.9% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,888 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 4,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on STE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of STERIS from $276.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set a "hold" rating and a $263.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,495 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.56, for a total value of $844,252.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $170,299.80. The trade was a 83.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Karen L. Burton sold 7,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $1,909,667.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,929.62. This trade represents a 56.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,131 shares of company stock worth $8,023,737. 1.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $249.3870 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $234.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $200.98 and a 52-week high of $252.79.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. STERIS's payout ratio is 34.92%.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.

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