Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,552 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Waters worth $17,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake 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 valued at $984,582,000 after purchasing an additional 212,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $537,053,000 after buying an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AKO Capital LLP lifted its stake in Waters by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 815,379 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $302,489,000 after acquiring an additional 25,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waters from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.25.

Waters Stock Down 2.8 %

WAT stock traded down $9.42 on Tuesday, hitting $324.35. 116,981 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $367.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.32. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month 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 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, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.