Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Holdings Cut by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waters were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 71.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $386.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $395.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.22.

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

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.