Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,924 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 940 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $9,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Waters by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 20,364 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,555,000 after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 38,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,321,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Waters from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $330.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.94.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $4.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $302.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,462. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $358.16. The company has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.10. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $279.61 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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.