STERIS plc $STE Stock Sold by LaFleur & Godfrey LLC

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lessened its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,338 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,748 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $5,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 629,532 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,863,139 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $411,995,000 after purchasing an additional 380,504 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,113,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $246,295,000 after purchasing an additional 46,391 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,048,636 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,883,000 after purchasing an additional 85,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 890,562 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $196,931,000 after purchasing an additional 9,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.78, for a total transaction of $956,795.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,305 shares in the company, valued at $5,730,632.90. This represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

STERIS Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE STE opened at $228.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.10. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 33.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.33.

About STERIS

STERIS plc (NYSE: STE) provides products and services designed to support infection prevention, procedural care and the safe manufacture of healthcare and life sciences products. Its offerings include surgical equipment and operating-room solutions, sterilization and decontamination systems, endoscopy products, cleaning and disinfection technologies, and related consumable products.

The company also provides outsourced sterilization and laboratory services through its Applied Sterilization Technologies business.