Barclays PLC Reduces Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Barclays PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 43,110 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $43,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.38.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $320.90 on Friday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $361.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.36. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.