Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 2,514 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 43.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,307 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,514 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in STERIS by 423.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS by 342.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of STE opened at $212.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on STE shares. Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $296,968.32. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% 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 have sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.