Savant Capital LLC Has $458,000 Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Savant Capital LLC decreased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $2,773,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $2,637,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Waters by 2,134.3% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,251,163,000 after buying an additional 64,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.50.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $322.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $324.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.