Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 212,364 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 4.47% of Waters worth $984,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waters by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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Waters Trading Down 5.1 %

NYSE:WAT traded down $18.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $344.09. The stock had a trading volume of 802,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,594. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $384.62 and a 200 day moving average of $373.38. The company has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.31.

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.