Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 34 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 1.9% in 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 buying an additional 49,194 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Waters by 0.7% during 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Waters by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 728,534 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $270,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,515 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Waters by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 714,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $264,937,000 after purchasing an additional 68,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $377.22 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $390.04 and its 200 day moving average is $367.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

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.