Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators trimmed its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 297 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Waters were worth $107,000 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. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 55.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Waters by 4.3% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,664,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,106,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 67.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,574,000 after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,028,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WAT opened at $388.09 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $246.35 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $344.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $327.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

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.