Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Lowers Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Waters by 7,120.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $70,264,000 after buying an additional 186,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $365.75 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $390.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters 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.