PGGM Investments cut its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,421 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Waters were worth $4,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Waters by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,504,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $467,011,000 after buying an additional 666,851 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,981,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,018,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $538,008,000 after purchasing an additional 547,777 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Waters by 9,685.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 482,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $128,562,000 after purchasing an additional 477,410 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Waters by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 802,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $274,950,000 after purchasing an additional 414,334 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.38.
Waters Stock Performance
NYSE WAT opened at $320.74 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $346.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $310.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.92.
Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.28. Waters had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 102.22%. The firm had revenue of $711.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Waters
Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company, 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.