Prudential PLC Sells 21,664 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Prudential PLC reduced its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,664 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $8,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 423.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 342.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. KeyCorp dropped their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three equities 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.00.

STERIS Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of STE stock opened at $212.13 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. The company has a market cap of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.09. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $195.14 and a 1-year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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 expect that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other STERIS news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

STERIS 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.