Gotham Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Gotham Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,301 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Waters worth $15,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Waters by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Waters by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WAT shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $343.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $349.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.12. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

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