Swiss National Bank Sells 5,100 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Waters worth $60,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.67.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $319.86. 768,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,956. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $333.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.77. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. Waters's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.