Prudential PLC lowered its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,121 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Waters were worth $9,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Waters by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.25.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WAT
Waters Stock Performance
Shares of WAT stock traded down $24.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $312.12. 336,461 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 517,031. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $372.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.68. The company has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Waters Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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