Franklin Resources Inc. Has $317.62 Million Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,252,844 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,840 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $317,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 115.4% in the 4th 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. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 423.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 416.0% in the 1st 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on STE. KeyCorp reduced their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In related news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at $13,956,107.44. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the sale, the director owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 5,909 shares of company stock valued at $1,257,083 in the last 90 days. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE stock opened at $210.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $216.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.63. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.14 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51 and a beta of 0.93.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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