Advocacy Wealth Management LLC Takes $626,000 Position in STERIS plc $STE

Advocacy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,469 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of STERIS by 259.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,602 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 37,228 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in STERIS by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,039,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,157,000 after purchasing an additional 89,250 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in STERIS by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 693,116 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $171,505,000 after purchasing an additional 34,981 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth $1,163,000. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in STERIS in the third quarter worth $2,480,000. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other STERIS news, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,163,347.64. The trade was a 3.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel A. Carestio sold 3,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.64, for a total value of $655,510.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,956,107.44. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,909 shares of company stock worth $1,257,083. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $210.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $216.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.63. STERIS plc has a one year low of $195.14 and a one year high of $269.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51 and a beta of 0.93.

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

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 31.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.