Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Sells 3,099 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lessened its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,099 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $104,645,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $2,914,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 127.0% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 25,380 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,414,000 after acquiring an additional 14,200 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $363.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $391.20 and its 200 day moving average is $369.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Research analysts predict 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.