Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires 1,257 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,015 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Waters by 34.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Waters by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $376.73 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $389.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.