Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,416 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Waters worth $43,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Waters by 34.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $141,757,000 after buying an additional 100,811 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Waters by 37.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,188,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Waters Stock Down 1.7 %
Shares of Waters stock traded down $6.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $374.24. 272,138 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,951. The company has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $388.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently commented on WAT. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $390.40.
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About Waters
(
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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