Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in STERIS plc $STE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 94.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,742 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 312,165 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in STERIS were worth $4,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in STERIS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of STERIS by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 112 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 416.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

STERIS Stock Performance

NYSE STE opened at $219.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.80. STERIS plc has a 1-year low of $204.90 and a 1-year high of $269.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

STERIS (NYSE:STE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at STERIS

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This trade represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.