Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 56 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,079 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Waters were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Waters by 34.8% in the third 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 during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Waters by 3.8% in the fourth 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. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 71.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Waters by 13.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Waters by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $374.24 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $388.85 and a 200-day moving average of $366.15. 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 cap of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Ten equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

About Waters

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.