Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,475 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,919 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $14,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth 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 period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 7,120.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $70,264,000 after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Down 1.4 %

Waters stock opened at $368.21 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.13.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters Company 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.