Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,121 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,633,464,000 after buying an additional 19,456 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,582,000 after purchasing an additional 212,364 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $537,053,000 after buying an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $324.57 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.15. 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 one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. 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.