Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the second 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAT. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $371.33.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $385.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $397.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $364.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $335.46.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.