Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,613 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Waters were worth $9,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. WBI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 327.9% during the 4th quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 35.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 111,261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $41,276,000 after purchasing an additional 29,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $1,708,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $346.59. 412,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,972. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $344.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company 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 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.