Teacher Retirement System of Texas Takes $206,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 556 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Waters by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $362.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $384.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $373.38. The company has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

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.