Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 97,574 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,932 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 97,574 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.50% of Waters worth $109,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% during 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 buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 438.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,435,000 after acquiring an additional 246,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank raised Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.13.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $340.10. 308,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,776. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $355.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.57. 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 twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters 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.