Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Waters makes up about 1.5% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Parthenon LLC owned 0.06% of Waters worth $10,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,889 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,936 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 127,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,102,000 after acquiring an additional 95,577 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,728,000 after acquiring an additional 11,823 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,818,000 after purchasing an additional 41,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waters by 129.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $6.17 on Tuesday, reaching $308.92. 370,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 407,417. The company has a 50 day moving average of $334.57 and a 200 day moving average of $308.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.