New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 18.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,878 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $11,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 65.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Waters by 510.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $379.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $390.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $417.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.18.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $799.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.05 million. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.61.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.