Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 98.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 236,217 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Waters by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Waters by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Waters Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $313.34 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $335.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.92. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.