Bokf Na Trims Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Bokf Na lowered its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Waters were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th 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 raised its stake in Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $343.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $349.55 and its 200 day moving average is $369.86. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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.