Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP reduced its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,674 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,866 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for 1.6% of River Global Investors LLP's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. River Global Investors LLP's holdings in Waters were worth $8,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 22,984 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,272,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $208,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in Waters by 17.2% during the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $5.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $372.92. 371,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,774. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $369.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $391.07.

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.