STERIS (NYSE:STE) Director Richard Breeden Sells 1,481 Shares

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Director Richard Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. This represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $212.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 0.93. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STERIS

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in STERIS in the fourth quarter worth $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 758,423 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in STERIS in the third quarter worth $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in 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 worth $504,486,000 after acquiring an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in STERIS by 25.7% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

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.