Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,684 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 14,661 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Waters worth $14,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 994 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $359.38 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $346.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.