Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $368.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $273.60 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $353.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.57.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

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.