Boston Trust Walden Corp Has $154.91 Million Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 417,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 54,352 shares during the period. Waters comprises approximately 1.1% of Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $154,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 69.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 96.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $415.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $386.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS 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.