M&T Bank Corp Raises Stock Position in STERIS plc $STE

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in STERIS by 74.3% in Q4 to 29,081 shares (about $7.99M), and several other large funds (AQR, Boston Partners, Orbis, Thrivent, Mitsubishi) also added positions — institutional investors now own roughly 94.69% of the stock.
• Analysts hold a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $275.20, though recent ratings are mixed (Weiss downgraded to Hold while Wall Street Zen upgraded to Strong‑Buy).
• STERIS reported Q earnings of $2.53 (in line with estimates) with revenue up 9.2% YoY, set FY2026 guidance at EPS $10.15–10.30, and pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield).

M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 74.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,081 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 12,397 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in STERIS were worth $7,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STE. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in STERIS by 178.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,070 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $291,704,000 after buying an additional 758,423 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of STERIS in the third quarter valued at about $158,982,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its position in shares of STERIS by 36.0% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,100,099 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $504,486,000 after purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of STERIS by 246.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 553,834 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $137,041,000 after purchasing an additional 393,970 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of STERIS by 16.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,238 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $387,797,000 after purchasing an additional 221,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on STE shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of STERIS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of STERIS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.21, for a total value of $734,876.58. Following the sale, the director directly owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $167,233.05. The trade was a 81.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company's stock.

STERIS Price Performance

Shares of STE stock opened at $221.86 on Friday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $228.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.30. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $209.98 and a 12 month high of $269.44. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94 and a beta of 1.07.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53. STERIS had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. Analysts predict that STERIS plc will post 10.22 earnings per share for the current year.

STERIS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. STERIS's payout ratio is 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.

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