Clearbridge Investments LLC Trims Stake in STERIS plc $STE

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,837 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,428 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $44,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in STERIS by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,015,000 after purchasing an additional 59,264 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in STERIS by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,695,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at STERIS

In related news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total transaction of $310,284.31. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,909 shares of company stock worth $1,257,083. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $212.42 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.14 and a 12-month high of $269.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.33. The company has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 0.93. 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 announced 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 31.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.