Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake 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 fund owned 287,960 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $63,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of STERIS by 423.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 416.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of STERIS by 342.3% in the fourth 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $211.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.14 and a 12-month high of $269.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on STE. KeyCorp reduced their target price 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the business’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 value of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.