Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 792 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.4% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,457 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth $469,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth $256,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,057,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 42,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,566,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 1.3 %

Waters stock opened at $385.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a P/E/G ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $348.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.41. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $249.34 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

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.