STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,908 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,763 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $37,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in STERIS by 8.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,048,636 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $231,883,000 after acquiring an additional 85,188 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of STERIS by 134.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 3,770 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 995 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on STE shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp cut their price target on STERIS from $291.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.00.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $217.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $211.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.78%.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $291,288.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,493,164. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total value of $296,968.32. Following the sale, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.