Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Waters worth $14,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after acquiring an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after acquiring an additional 16,703 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $318,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $370.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $388.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.08. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WAT. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.40.

About Waters

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.