Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Holdings Decreased by C Partners Holding GmbH

C Partners Holding GmbH cut its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,787 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for 3.8% of C Partners Holding GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. C Partners Holding GmbH’s holdings in Waters were worth $15,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AKO Capital LLP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 815,379 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $302,489,000 after acquiring an additional 25,172 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.13.

Waters Stock Up 2.7 %

WAT stock opened at $351.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $352.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.