Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 250 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Waters by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 1.8 %

WAT opened at $368.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G 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 twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.25.

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%. Analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.31.

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.