Legal & General Group Plc Sells 112,237 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 423,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 112,237 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.71% of Waters worth $156,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

Waters Trading Up 9.2 %

Waters stock opened at $335.92 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. 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 P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $372.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.68.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 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%. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.