Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 2,622 Shares of STERIS plc $STE

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,169 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,622 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in STERIS were worth $2,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,286,535 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,114,882,000 after buying an additional 73,014 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in STERIS by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,614,840 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,169,957,000 after buying an additional 260,001 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in STERIS by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,620 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $637,259,000 after acquiring an additional 14,151 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its position in STERIS by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,249,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 120,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in STERIS by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,623,234 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $411,522,000 after acquiring an additional 440,164 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $291,288.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.28, for a total transaction of $296,968.32. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 35,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,328 shares of company stock valued at $1,554,051 in the last ninety days. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE opened at $202.59 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. The stock has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 0.93. STERIS plc has a 12-month low of $195.14 and a 12-month high of $269.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.18.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by ($0.03). STERIS had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

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.