Saudi Central Bank Buys 3,242 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 89.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,865 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in STERIS were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new stake in STERIS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 105.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,506 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in STERIS by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,502 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 15,214 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of STERIS during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,751,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.33.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $218.70 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 0.91. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44.

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

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the 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 directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.