Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 25.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,835 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 19,331 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.10% of Waters worth $16,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the first quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $325.86 on Monday. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $325.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.50.

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.