Trust Co. of Vermont Has $798,000 Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,425 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Waters were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $473,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 19,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 8,346 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.1% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 6,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,692,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.20.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $295.35. 85,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $322.66 and its 200 day moving average is $324.25. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The company has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of 66.59%. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.