STERIS (NYSE:STE) Director Sells $734,876.58 in Stock

STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) Director Cynthia Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the sale, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $230.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $204.90 and a 1 year high of $269.44. The company has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $254.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.55.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On STERIS

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in STERIS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $320,298,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 758,423 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at approximately $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 36.0% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 246.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $137,041,000 after purchasing an additional 393,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.20.

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.