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

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $365.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $390.80 and a 200 day moving average of $371.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.