Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stake in STERIS plc $STE

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,846,124 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 404,720 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 4.92% of STERIS worth $1,199,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STE. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of STERIS by 20.7% during the third quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 3,961 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,789 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STERIS by 7.3% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,779 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in STERIS by 20.8% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,574 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in STERIS during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

STERIS Stock Up 0.2%

STERIS stock opened at $268.80 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.62 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $259.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.66. STERIS plc has a twelve month low of $204.90 and a twelve month high of $269.44.

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

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. STERIS’s payout ratio is currently 36.21%.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, VP Renato Tamaro sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Julia Madsen sold 5,008 shares of the firm’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 approximately $2,806,020. This represents a 31.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,044 shares of company stock valued at $6,586,218. Corporate insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.

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.