Pensionfund Sabic Has $1.07 Million Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Pensionfund Sabic lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 27.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,251,163,000 after acquiring an additional 64,525 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,839,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Waters by 3.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,092,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $299,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,059 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waters by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 34.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $228,388,000 after acquiring an additional 212,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.20.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $294.40 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 66.59% and a net margin of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters 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.