Invesco Ltd. Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Invesco Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 975,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 35,448 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.64% of Waters worth $361,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after purchasing an additional 212,364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $335.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $372.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.68. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.31.

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.