ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

ProShare Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,957 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,079 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $3,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waters by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Waters by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $156,439,000 after purchasing an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $358.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $346.42 and a 200 day moving average of $371.33. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The business's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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.

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