Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 29,418 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 29,418 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Waters were worth $25,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

Waters Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $371.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $391.31 and its 200 day moving average is $370.98. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.