Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Lessened by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 37.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,096 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 94,376 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.27% of Waters worth $46,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 96,018 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,612,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Waters by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $336.56 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.22. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.50.

Waters 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.