Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Lowers Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $381.31 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $389.11 and a 200 day moving average of $366.82. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. 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.