STERIS plc $STE Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 20,515.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,267,316 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,096,240 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.36% of STERIS worth $7,426,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 178.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 758,423 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth $158,982,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in STERIS by 21.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,502,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $737,605,000 after purchasing an additional 629,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STE opened at $218.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74 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 quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.74.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. STERIS’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Monday, August 24th. KeyCorp lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, STERIS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total value of $956,795.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.