Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Position in STERIS plc $STE

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,396 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,799 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.18% of STERIS worth $42,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in STERIS by 46.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 59,264 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of STERIS by 16.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of STERIS by 40.0% during 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 period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in STERIS by 38.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,716 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

STERIS Price Performance

STE stock opened at $261.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $259.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 1.03. STERIS plc has a fifty-two week low of $204.90 and a fifty-two week high of $269.44.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 14.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. STERIS’s payout ratio is 36.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STERIS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Julia Madsen sold 5,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total value of $1,312,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,020. This represents a 31.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Renato Tamaro sold 5,036 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.55, for a total value of $1,297,021.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,466,747.25. This trade represents a 46.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,044 shares of company stock valued at $6,586,218. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

STERIS Profile

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.