Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Waters by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after acquiring an additional 16,703 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $318,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Waters by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $403.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $378.42 and a 200-day moving average of $350.18. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $411.58.

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