Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,143 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $10,106,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 96.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Waters by 61.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Waters by 8.6% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Waters by 21.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $273.60 and a one year high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $355.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.34. The firm has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

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.