Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 160 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $388.64.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $407.61 on Tuesday. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.11. The company has a market capitalization of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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.