STERIS plc $STE Holdings Raised by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,181 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

STERIS Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $219.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.74. The company has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. STERIS plc has a 1 year low of $209.98 and a 1 year high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STE. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded STERIS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.20.

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.