American Century Companies Inc. Sells 925 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.56% of Waters worth $123,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after acquiring an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after acquiring an additional 16,703 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $318,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 728,534 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $270,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,515 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 0.7 %

WAT stock opened at $365.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, 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. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

About Waters

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.