SFE Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 709 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Waters were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 9.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Waters by 241.8% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Waters by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 31,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,260,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $388.64.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $382.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $390.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.86. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 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.