The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,993 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,044 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of STERIS worth $18,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in STERIS during the fourth quarter worth $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $291,704,000 after acquiring an additional 758,423 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at $158,982,000. 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 worth $504,486,000 after acquiring an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 6.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 260,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 35,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,956,107.44. The trade was a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on STE shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of STERIS in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp dropped their target price on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.25.

STERIS Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE STE opened at $228.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $212.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.92. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

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.