Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,983 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 170.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 52,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,825 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 33,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,082,000 after acquiring an additional 8,125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 1.7 %

WAT opened at $374.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $388.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $366.15. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

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.