Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,015 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Waters by 34.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $376.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.09. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.