Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 352 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 96.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Waters by 8.6% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position 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 worth $928,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $410.95 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $416.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $381.66 and its 200-day moving average is $354.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.71.

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.