STERIS plc $STE Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in STERIS by 13.0%, selling 627,817 shares in Q4 and now owns 4,218,307 shares (about 4.30% of the company) valued at roughly $1.07 billion.
• Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares at an average price of $237.21 on March 5, reducing her ownership by 81.46%; insiders now own about 1.07% of the stock.
• STERIS reported Q results in line with estimates (EPS $2.53) with revenue up 9.2% and set FY2026 guidance of $10.15–$10.30 EPS, while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $275.20 price target.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,218,307 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 627,817 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 4.30% of STERIS worth $1,069,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,213,521 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,022,114,000 after purchasing an additional 50,393 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,354,839 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,077,564,000 after purchasing an additional 166,736 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 36.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 556,088 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 16.4% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of STERIS by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,280,142 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $316,758,000 after purchasing an additional 59,443 shares during the period. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cynthia L. Feldmann sold 3,098 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,233.05. This represents a 81.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of STERIS in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.20.

STERIS Price Performance

STERIS stock opened at $222.43 on Friday. STERIS plc has a 52-week low of $209.98 and a 52-week high of $269.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (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%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. STERIS's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. STERIS has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.150-10.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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