Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,294 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.12% of Waters worth $26,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Waters by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,742,000 after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Up 2.6 %

WAT stock traded up $9.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $388.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,014,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,438. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $273.60 and a 52-week high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $355.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $332.34.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 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.