STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by London Co. of Virginia

London Co. of Virginia reduced its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 670,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 69,584 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in STERIS were worth $148,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in STERIS by 423.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 416.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Meramec Financial Planners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total transaction of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 valued at $1,554,051 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

STE opened at $214.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.92. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.60.

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

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.