Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Reduced by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,762 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Waters were worth $9,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $6.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $348.65. 869,104 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,326. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $342.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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.