New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,975 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Waters were worth $19,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 55.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,664,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth $1,786,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $10,106,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Waters by 67.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,574,000 after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.58.

Waters Stock Up 19.8 %

Shares of WAT opened at $387.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $241.40 and a 12-month high of $389.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $342.04 and its 200 day moving average is $325.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share 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.