STERIS plc $STE Stake Raised by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,567 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,626 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in STERIS were worth $45,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in STERIS by 178.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 36.0% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 6.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 260,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $291,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,647 shares in the company, valued at $13,493,164. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

STERIS Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE STE opened at $228.75 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $212.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $195.14 and a twelve month high of $269.44. The stock has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.91.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on STERIS in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.25.

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.