Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Stake in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC cut its stake in STERIS by 34.0% in the third quarter, selling 13,006 shares and ending the period with 25,281 shares valued at $6.256 million.
• Several large institutions made sizable moves—Norges Bank opened a ~$289.1M position and firms like Orbis, Thrivent, Invesco and Assenagon materially increased holdings—leaving institutional ownership at 94.69%.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $275.20 target; STERIS reported EPS in line with expectations, set FY2026 guidance of 10.150–10.300, and announced a $0.63 quarterly dividend (1.1% yield).

Magnetar Financial LLC lessened its stake in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,281 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 13,006 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in STERIS were worth $6,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in STERIS during the second quarter valued at approximately $289,132,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in STERIS by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $504,486,000 after buying an additional 556,088 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in STERIS by 246.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $137,041,000 after acquiring an additional 393,970 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in STERIS by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,220,699 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $293,236,000 after acquiring an additional 297,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 305.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 330,907 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $81,880,000 after acquiring an additional 249,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.20.

STERIS Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE STE opened at $221.99 on Wednesday. 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $253.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96 and a beta of 1.05.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.53. STERIS had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 12.15%.STERIS's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS's payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STERIS news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total transaction of $734,876.58. Following the transaction, the director owned 705 shares in the company, valued at $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.07% of the stock is owned by 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding STE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.