Swiss National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 287,960 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of STERIS worth $63,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of STERIS by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,114,882,000 after acquiring an additional 73,014 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,169,957,000 after purchasing an additional 260,001 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $637,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in STERIS by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 120,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in STERIS by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,623,234 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $411,522,000 after purchasing an additional 440,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $211.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.27. 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 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 over the last 90 days. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

STERIS Company 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.