Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Waters were worth $11,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waters by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report 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 research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $415.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $386.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.09. The firm has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.01.

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

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.