STERIS plc $STE Stock Sold by Sustainable Growth Advisers LP

Key Points

• Sustainable Growth Advisers LP reduced its STERIS stake by 36.6% in the third quarter, selling 137,485 shares and retaining 237,752 shares worth approximately $49.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.69% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with three Buy ratings and one Hold rating, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $271.33 versus the stock’s $224.06 opening price.
• STERIS reported quarterly EPS of $2.59, exceeding estimates by $0.10, while revenue increased 7.3% year over year to $1.49 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, implying a 1.2% yield.

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP trimmed its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 36.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 237,752 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 137,485 shares during the quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned about 0.24% of STERIS worth $49,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of STE. apricus wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in STERIS by 0.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,118 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in STERIS by 30.7% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 247 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in STERIS by 14.4% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 565 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 50.0% during the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 216 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STE. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.33.

STERIS Stock Up 3.1%

STERIS stock opened at $224.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.91. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from STERIS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. STERIS's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc NYSE: STE provides products and services designed to support infection prevention, surgical procedures, and the manufacture of healthcare and pharmaceutical products. The company serves healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, and other organizations that require controlled, sterile environments.

Its Healthcare segment offers sterilization and decontamination equipment, operating-room products, surgical instruments, endoscopy products, consumables, and related maintenance and procedural services.

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