Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Waters by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after buying an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $110,005,000 after purchasing an additional 82,865 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $22,188,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $369.71 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $389.84 and a 200-day moving average of $364.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.