Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 287,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 129,767 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.48% of Waters worth $106,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $284,415,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Waters by 50,228.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 662,320 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $244,111,000 after buying an additional 661,004 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 3,349.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $112,928,000 after acquiring an additional 295,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $104,645,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised 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 shares of Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $339.32. The stock had a trading volume of 359,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,806. The business's 50 day moving average price is $343.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $367.11. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters 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.