Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP lowered its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 46,618 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.19% of Waters worth $41,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $358.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.33. The company has a market capitalization of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.

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