Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 107,300 Shares of STERIS plc (NYSE:STE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in STERIS plc (NYSE:STE - Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,335,505 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 107,300 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 6.42% of STERIS worth $1,536,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Coast Financial LLC lifted its position in STERIS by 2.8% in the third quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC raised its position in STERIS by 0.8% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in STERIS by 7.6% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 763 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of STERIS by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its stake in STERIS by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,916 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 94.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at STERIS

In other STERIS news, CFO Michael J. Tokich sold 23,332 shares of STERIS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.00, for a total transaction of $5,763,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,603,710. The trade was a 35.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

STERIS Stock Performance

Shares of STE traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $215.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,040,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,858. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.46 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $228.50 and a 200-day moving average of $228.58. STERIS plc has a 12 month low of $195.47 and a 12 month high of $248.24.

STERIS (NYSE:STE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.33 billion. STERIS had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.78%. STERIS's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that STERIS plc will post 9.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

STERIS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. STERIS's payout ratio is currently 52.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STE has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of STERIS in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of STERIS in a research report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp upped their price target on STERIS from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of STERIS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of STERIS in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.00.

STERIS Company Profile

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services.