Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 3,349.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $112,928,000 after purchasing an additional 295,580 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,645,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Waters by 438.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $112,435,000 after buying an additional 246,738 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:WAT opened at $359.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $346.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.19. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.19.

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.