Van ECK Associates Corp Has $12.47 Million Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 94.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 625,924 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $12,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in 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 period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,515 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,412 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $369.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $389.84 and its 200 day moving average is $364.55. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAT. UBS Group upped their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.40.

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.