Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 519,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,856 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.88% of Waters worth $192,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Waters by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Waters by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of WAT opened at $361.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $387.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.60. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.40.

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.