Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 106,315 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 28,096 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Waters were worth $31,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 259,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,498,000 after acquiring an additional 155,235 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,251,163,000 after purchasing an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 187,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,725,000 after buying an additional 39,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $355.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.32. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.50.

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.