Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,826 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Waters were worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 438.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,738 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $376,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.13.

Waters Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WAT stock traded down $2.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $337.96. 252,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,255. The business's fifty day moving average is $356.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.