Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 43.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,714 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,301 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,984,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. UBS Group cut their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of WAT opened at $347.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $345.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.78. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 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.