Mather Group LLC. Sells 240 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mather Group LLC. cut its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,368,067,000 after acquiring an additional 41,654 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its position in Waters by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,417,000 after buying an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,664,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $358.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $324.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.64.

Waters Company 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.