Insider Selling: STERIS (NYSE:STE) Director Sells $956,795.24 in Stock

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $232.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 0.91. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $195.14 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.91.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%.The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on STE shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.33.

Institutional Trading of STERIS

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 178.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in STERIS by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $504,486,000 after acquiring an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,995,000 after acquiring an additional 380,504 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.