Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV cut its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 821 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $605,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,743,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $386,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Waters by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 209,538 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $60,791,000 after acquiring an additional 14,949 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $327.00.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $352.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $337.61 and its 200-day moving average is $324.53. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company 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 (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current 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.