Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 94.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 625,924 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Waters worth $12,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Waters by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target 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, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $390.40.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Waters
Waters Trading Up 0.3 %
NYSE:WAT traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $377.30. 544,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.09.
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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.
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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