Plato Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in STERIS plc $STE

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,026 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in STERIS by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 633,530 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $160,613,000 after acquiring an additional 183,680 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in shares of STERIS during the first quarter worth $5,506,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 209,923 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $53,220,000 after purchasing an additional 113,070 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 190,483 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $48,326,000 after purchasing an additional 15,416 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in STERIS by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 430,639 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $109,176,000 after purchasing an additional 134,990 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Mohsen Sohi sold 4,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,730,632.90. This trade represents a 14.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,386 shares of company stock valued at $2,510,846 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on STERIS from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $275.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded STERIS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.33.

STERIS Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE STE opened at $232.83 on Wednesday. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.14 and a 12 month high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $218.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.89.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.000-11.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from STERIS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. STERIS’s payout ratio is 30.81%.

About STERIS

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.