Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $365.75 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $390.80 and a 200 day moving average of $371.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.