DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 259 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,576 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.10% of Waters worth $19,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,083,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Waters by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,664,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth $1,786,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth $10,106,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $324.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $341.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.73. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $234.04 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The company has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $342.58.

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.