California State Teachers Retirement System Has $37.83 Million Stake in STERIS plc $STE

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,076 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,743 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of STERIS worth $37,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 423.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in STERIS by 416.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 342.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meramec Financial Planners LLC bought a new position in shares of STERIS in the first quarter worth $33,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 65,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,956,107.44. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:STE opened at $228.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.54. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $195.14 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $212.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.56.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on STE. KeyCorp dropped 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of STERIS in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on STERIS in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.