Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 5,165 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 279.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,165 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,213,521 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,022,114,000 after purchasing an additional 50,393 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,077,564,000 after buying an additional 166,736 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 16.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $387,797,000 after buying an additional 221,199 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in STERIS by 4.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,280,142 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $316,758,000 after buying an additional 59,443 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Stock Up 0.5%

STERIS stock opened at $222.04 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.32. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $204.90 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. STERIS’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.20.

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.