London Co. of Virginia Decreases Stake in STERIS plc $STE

London Co. of Virginia cut its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 670,852 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 69,584 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned about 0.68% of STERIS worth $148,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in STERIS by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,114,882,000 after purchasing an additional 73,014 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in STERIS by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,169,957,000 after purchasing an additional 260,001 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $637,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,151 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of STERIS by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 120,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of STERIS by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,623,234 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $411,522,000 after purchasing an additional 440,164 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $214.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.69 and a 200-day moving average of $227.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s payout ratio is presently 31.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, STERIS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

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.