Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,690 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $38,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Waters by 118.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Waters by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,646 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Waters by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Rothschild Redb raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Waters from $315.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.57.

Waters Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of WAT opened at $407.53 on Thursday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $346.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.09. The firm has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The business had revenue of $608.55 million for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Waters Corporation 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.