Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 10,887 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 219,249 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,887 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of STERIS worth $55,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in STERIS in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in STERIS by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in STERIS by 416.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STE. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Six 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

STERIS stock opened at $221.64 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.31. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $209.98 and a twelve month high of $269.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91 and a beta of 1.07.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

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.