Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Position Cut by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at $72,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $387.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $241.40 and a 12 month high of $389.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $342.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.6 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.