Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 98.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 236,217 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Waters by 55.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Waters by 35.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $313.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $335.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.67. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

About Waters

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.