Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,342 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,342 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Waters worth $13,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $13,728,000 after acquiring an additional 11,823 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID raised its holdings in Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 11,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,776,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,505 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 41,302 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $13,598,000 after buying an additional 23,418 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.67.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $5.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $321.25. 507,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $363.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $333.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.34.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. Waters's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 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.