Rockland Trust Co. Takes $228,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 633 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.00.

Waters Trading Down 0.5 %

WAT stock traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $352.51. The company had a trading volume of 576,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,871. The stock has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 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 company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.