Strs Ohio Purchases 6,196 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its stake in STERIS by 9.5% in the first quarter, buying 6,196 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 71,748 shares valued at about $15.9 million.
• Several STERIS insiders sold shares recently, including the CEO and a vice president, with insiders selling 7,328 shares worth about $1.55 million over the last three months under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Analysts remain generally positive on STERIS, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $278, while the stock recently traded near $217.94 after the company reported slightly missed quarterly EPS but 6.7% revenue growth.

Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,748 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.07% of STERIS worth $15,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in STERIS by 423.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 342.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on STE. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.00.

STERIS Stock Down 0.1%

STE stock opened at $217.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 0.92. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $211.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.83. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

About STERIS

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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