STERIS plc $STE Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 734,939 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,823 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.75% of STERIS worth $186,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 259.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,602 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,165,000 after acquiring an additional 37,228 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,039,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,157,000 after purchasing an additional 89,250 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at about $2,480,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 16.9% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 93,905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $213.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87 and a beta of 0.95.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on STE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.25.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

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.