South Dakota Investment Council Sells 900 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Waters were worth $951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 14.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Waters by 35.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Waters by 55.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Waters by 48.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,344 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.67.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $308.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $335.06 and a 200-day moving average of $306.70.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS 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.