Argent Trust Co Raises Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Waters were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.50.

Waters Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WAT opened at $336.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.60.

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