Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $181.46 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 489,131 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,595 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.82% of Waters worth $181,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 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 research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.13.

Waters Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WAT stock traded down $2.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $337.96. 252,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 475,445. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $355.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $370.45. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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.