Scientech Research LLC Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WAT. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $322.00.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $357.33 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $333.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21.

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

About Waters

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.