Banque Pictet & Cie SA Purchases New Position in STERIS plc $STE

Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,782 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,480,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in STERIS by 259.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 51,602 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,165,000 after buying an additional 37,228 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 5.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 98,487 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,366,000 after acquiring an additional 5,072 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 9.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,039,351 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $257,157,000 after acquiring an additional 89,250 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of STERIS in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,480,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of STERIS by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 693,116 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $171,505,000 after purchasing an additional 34,981 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director owned 705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded STERIS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, STERIS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.20.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $218.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.95. STERIS plc has a one year low of $204.90 and a one 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

STERIS Company 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.