Equitable Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 43.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,371 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in STERIS during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $246.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45 and a beta of 1.03. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $204.90 and a twelve month high of $269.44. 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 (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS 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%. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.