Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Bank of Stockton

Bank of Stockton decreased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,417 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Waters were worth $870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $327.26. 32,297 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,940. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $342.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $325.13. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $234.04 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

Waters 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.