Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,342 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $13,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $158,723,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waters by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $228,388,000 after purchasing an additional 212,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $321.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $333.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.98. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $363.80. The company has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.