STERIS plc $STE Shares Acquired by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 96.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,566 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in STERIS were worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of STERIS by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,106 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 32.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 242,732 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,015,000 after purchasing an additional 59,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in STERIS by 16.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in STERIS by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 8,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in STERIS by 38.9% during the first 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 during the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STERIS stock opened at $217.94 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $211.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.67. STERIS plc has a 52 week low of $195.14 and a 52 week high of $269.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 0.92.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.83 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that STERIS plc will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is 31.78%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In related news, VP John Adam Zangerle sold 1,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,379,003.52. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Richard C. Breeden sold 1,481 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.51, for a total value of $310,284.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,964 shares in the company, valued at $8,163,347.64. This trade represents a 3.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,328 shares of company stock worth $1,554,051. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.