Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Waters were worth $928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Waters during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Up 0.7 %

WAT opened at $384.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $363.07 and its 200-day moving average is $334.44. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $395.50.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS 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.