Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Waters by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Waters by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $365.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.28. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.