Congress Asset Management Co. Has $35.93 Million Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,722 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,498 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $35,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in STERIS by 46.1% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in STERIS by 32.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,015,000 after buying an additional 59,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 16.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 40.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised STERIS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.20.

STERIS Stock Up 0.5%

STE opened at $222.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.32. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $204.90 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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, analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

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.