Saudi Central Bank Has $1.45 Million Position in STERIS plc $STE

Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 89.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,865 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 633,530 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $160,613,000 after purchasing an additional 183,680 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,506,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 209,923 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $53,220,000 after buying an additional 113,070 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 190,483 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $48,326,000 after buying an additional 15,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in STERIS by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 71,748 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,866,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE opened at $218.70 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $225.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.74. The firm has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 0.91.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%.The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 33.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total transaction of $956,795.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $275.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp cut their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.33.

STERIS Profile

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.