Bank of America Corp DE Sells 23,265 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418,464 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 23,265 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.70% of Waters worth $155,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,704,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Waters by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 109,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $40,553,000 after purchasing an additional 34,209 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, Cypress Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $984,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Trading Up 6.6%

NYSE WAT traded up $22.74 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $366.80. 634,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,100. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $370.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.