Champlain Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 478,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 265,910 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for about 1.1% of Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.81% of Waters worth $177,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after buying an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Waters by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.38.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $321.34 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.